Digimon AU: Alternate Universe
by moviefan-92
Summary: A full alternate universe Digimon Season fic. Tai, Davis, TK, Kari, Takato, and Takuya are brought to the Digital World by a mysterious power. There they befriend Shoutmon, who agrees to be their guide to help them find their way home. Along the way, they'll make friends and face many enemies as they try to free save the world with the power of Digivolution. Bad Summary.
1. Chapter 1: A Digital Adventure Begins

**(A/N: Well, it has begun. This is my attempt at writing my very own season of Digimon. It's completely unrelated to the other Digimon fics I wrote. This isn't going to be like my other fics. It's not just a story, but an entire season I thought up. And it is going to be a looooong one, easily the longest fic I've ever written, and probably the longest one I'll ever write. So, I hope you're all ready for this, because I'm in it for the long haul. I will be using some plot elements, themes, and villains that have appeared in the different Seasons, especially towards the beginning, but overall, it will be an original series. This first chapter may be a little short and slow, but I promise it will improve the more the plot advances. So, without further ado, I present to you the first chapter of my very own Digimon Season.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **" DIGIMON AU: ALTERNATE UNIVERSE"**

 **Chapter 1: A Digital Adventure Begins**

He didn't recognize the number that had come up on his cellphone. It didn't belong to his parents or any of his friends, not unless one of them had gotten a new cell number.

Normally, he would assume it was a wrong number and leave it at that, but the context of the message sounded like a distress call that read: _The Digital World is in trouble. We need your help. Please go to the computer room._

Most likely, a message like this was either a prank or a teacher's attempt to get him to help with some computer work, but he decided to play it safe and just stop by the computer room to make sure everything was ok, even if it did mean he would be roped into having to work. He could already hear his friend Rika calling him a gullible goggle-head.

"Hey, goggles are trendy these days," he muttered out loud. And as he entered the computer room, he saw not one, but two other students wearing goggles on their heads as well. "Case and point."

There were four people total in the room, not including him, and they all looked up as he walked in. Right away, he recognized Taichi Kamiya, known simply as Tai for short. He was the captain of the soccer team for the school. The only girl in the room was his sister, whose name he couldn't remember. She was standing beside a blonde boy wearing a hat. The last person, who looked more like a relative of Tai's than the girl, he recognized as Davis Motomiya, another member of the soccer team.

"Hey there," Tai greeted him. "Did you get the text too?"

The newcomer nearly dropped his cellphone as he held it up to show them the message. "Oh, um, yeah. I don't know what it's about though."

"Neither do we," said the blonde boy. "It just told us to come here. By the way, I'm Takeru Takashi, but everyone calls me TK."

The newcomer nodded to him in greeting. "Oh, um, I'm Takato Matsuki. Nice to meet you."

The girl gave him a smile. "Nice to meet you as well. My name's Hikari, but you can just call me Kari, everyone does. And this is my brother."

Tai nodded in greeting. "Hey, my name is-"

"Oh, believe me, I know who you are," Takato unintentionally interrupted. "You're as famous as around here as Yamato Yamada's band."

TK chuckled. "Funny you should say that since he's my older brother."

"Who my sister has a crush on," Davis added, rolling his eyes. "But if you know who Tai is, then you must know who I am. After all, I am the rising star on the team."

"Oh, brother," Tai and Kari silently muttered together.

Takato nodded. "Um, yes, I know who you are. Everyone knows everyone on the soccer team. It's said that it's the school's best team ever."

Grinning broadly, Davis made a muscle. "Well, I _am_ on it after all."

Kari chuckled. "Doesn't Ken have, like, five times as many goals than you this semester?"

"Ouch," TK muttered. "That was cold."

Davis glared at him. "Yea, well, nobody asked you, TO."

TK blinked. "TO?"

"He forgot how to spell TK," Tai joked, earning a laugh from everyone except for his lookalike, who began fuming.

A knock on the door diverted their attention, and they turned to find another boy about the same age as Tai, who was also wearing goggles, standing in the doorway.

"Um, excuse me," he said, "my name is Takuya Kanbara. Uh," he held up his cellphone, "I got a text asking me to come here. Something about the Digital World being in trouble."

Davis took out his phone and looked at it. "Yeah, I got that too."

"So did I," said Kari.

"Looks like we all did," Tai observed.

With all six cellphones out, almost as if they were reacting to each either, the teens each simultaneously received another text. Upon reading them, they saw that they had once again gotten the same message with two options.

 _Will you help us?_ _ **Yes/No**_.

Tai read the message out loud. "What's that supposed to mean? Help with what?"

"It sounds like a video game," Davis replied. "Help save the Digital World. I'm saying yes."

"They're probably just trying to sell you something," TK told him.

"But there's no charge listings," Davis told him, and selected _**Yes**_.

The moment he touched it, the computer closest to them turned on all by itself. Startled by the sound of it powering on, the teens jumped away from it in surprise.

"Whoa!" Tai exclaimed. "That's weird. It was off a minute ago."

But the computer hadn't just turned on, it was now running a program without anyone controlling it. The teens gave at it curious look as what appeared to be a type of gate or window appeared on the screen, beyond which laid a forest.

"What's up with that?" TK asked.

"Not sure," said Tai. "Izzy might have an idea, but he went home already."

The sound of another text message being received was heard, this one reading: _Hold your cellphones up to the computer._

Takuya read the message for them before giving a confused look. "Just what is this supposed to be?"

"Not sure," said TK, "but it looks related to whatever program this computer is running. Could it be an app of some sort?"

"Or the game," Davis suggested. "Maybe we're supposed to download it from the Internet like this."

He held up his phone to the computer and waited for the program to transfer over to his phone.

"Wait," Kari said suddenly. "What if it's a scam? It might be trying to get all your contacts."

Before anyone could answer, they received another text. _Read the following out loud: "Digi-Port Open."_

Takato looked at his phone, speaking the phrase as a question. "Um, Digi-Port open?"

Instantly, a bright light flashed from the computer, filling the room. The teens cried out as they were blinded. A suction feeling engulfed them, drawing them forward towards the computer. The next thing they knew, they were falling through space and time. Incredible and fantastical distorted images flowed around them as they fell through what appeared to be a pixelated kaleidoscope.

The ride lasted for only a few seconds before they were surrounded by white light once again. When it faded, the six of them laid in a big heap on the floor. No, floor wasn't the right word for it. They were lying on grass. Somehow, they had ended up outside, though it took them a few moments to realize it.

"Ow," Takato grumbled. "I hit my head on something."

"Yeah," Davis complained, " _my_ head. Get off of me!"

One by one, they got to their feet. Looking around, the very first thing they noticed was the obvious.

"Well," said Tai, "we're not in school anymore."

Kari suddenly cried out and grabbed him.

"Kari, what's wrong?" TK cried worriedly.

Slowly, she pointed up into the sky. "Forget the school, I don't think we're on Earth anymore!"

Following where her finger was pointing, they saw what indeed appeared to be the planet Earth floating high in the sky. It didn't look like any image of Earth they'd ever seen before though. It looked more like a 3-D digital model of it, completely pixelated and covered in a wireframe. Silver craters covered the surface, from which beams of pink light flowed out in different directions.

The teens stared at the floating planet, if that was indeed what it was, with gapping mouths. For one of them, the only possible explanation was that this was a dream, but a sharp pinch to the cheek shot down that theory.

"Ouch!" Davis yelped, releasing his cheek and rubbing it. "Well, this isn't a dream. So now I'm thinking either another planet or an alternate reality."

"Who cares?" Tai replied, looking around. "Lets just get out of here. Come on, Kari."

"Tai, wait!" she called to him as he stomped through the bushes.

He hadn't made it more than a few feet before coming to a halt. "Whoa, what the?"

Before him stood what seemed to be the remains of an abandoned highly-technological and futuristic city covered in vegetation, as if the forest were growing right on top of the metal surface. Or perhaps covered wasn't the right word for it. It was more like the technology and the plant life were a hybrid form.

The others came to join him. "Whoa is right," Takuya agreed. "Where the heck are we?"

"No signal," TK told them as he checked his phone. "I don't know where we are, but there's no phone service. Not even a single bar."

Davis dropped to the ground. "You mean we're stranded here in the middle of this desolate wasteland?"

Kari looked around at all the greenery. "Well, I wouldn't call it a wasteland, but we definitely seem to be stranded."

Takato fell back beside Davis. "Great. Now what are we supposed to do?"

Behind him, the bush he was sitting next to shook as if there were something inside it. He glanced at it curiously, seeing something inside, and he pushed some of the branches aside to be greeted by a slimy green creature with large eyes and an even larger mouth with huge teeth.

Crying out, Takato scrambled away from the creature as he shouted to the sky. "What the heck is going on?!"

 **(A/N: The adventure has begun. Our heroes are in the Digital World, and a long and perilous journey is getting ready to unfold. I know this chapter was a little short and not much happened, but I promise things will get better. I decided to use the leaders from the first four Seasons, and TK and Kari. And let me clarify something on their ages. Davis, TK, and Kari are the same ages they were in Season 2, and Takato and Takuya are the ages they were in their respective Seasons. The only one whose age is off is Tai. I made him younger, so he'll be a little closer to the others' ages, but he's still the oldest of the bunch. I'll attempt to update every week, so look forward to that. It'd be like I really am releasing my own episodes for a new Season. Feel free to review, your comments are really encouraging.)**


	2. Chapter 2: Going Digital

**(A/N: Alright, I drew some attention. I knew it'd be a bit of a risk doing an AU, but it looks like it's paying off. Lets see if I can draw in some more readers. Now we'll be things will start to get underway. We last left our heroes stranded in the Digital World. Lets see where things go from here.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 2: Going Digital**

The creature leapt out of the bush and, for lack of a better word, stood before the teens. It was a green blob with large eyeballs on stalks, and a big mouth containing huge teeth and a tongue that hung out.

The teens backed away from the creature in disgust and surprise.

"Whoa, what is that thing?" Tai asked no one in particular.

With its large mouth and enormous teeth, the creature was fully capable of biting off their heads, and as it loomed over Takato and Davis… two arm-like appendages pressed together as if it were praying or begging.

"Oh, please don't hurt me!" it cried. "I have noting to do with any of this!"

Takato just stared at the creature, dumbfounded. "Um, did that green thing just talk?"

The 'green thing', as Takato called it, took another look at them. "Hey, wait, you're not with…" It visibly relaxed. "Oh, thank goodness. You had me worried for a moment."

The others exchanged bewildered looks, uncertain what to make of this. Nothing had made sense ever since that strange light had flashed from the computer and brought them here.

"Um…" TK started, attempting to communicate with the creature, "excuse us, but do you understand what we're saying?"

The creature, which appeared to be male, shifted its large eyes towards him. "Of course I can understand you. What, can't you understand me?" It looked him up and down. "Speaking of which, what are you?"

Davis blinked. "I think that's our line."

The creature's eyes narrowed. "Well, obviously I'm Numemon. But everyone knows that. The question is, what are you supposed to be?"

Kari hesitated before answering. "We're, uh, we're human."

The creature, Numemon's eyes widened. "What? Human?"

At that moment, what sounded like an explosion came from behind them several yards away. The color drained from Numemon's face, leaving it a lighter shade of green, as it waved around the stumpy appendages that served as arms.

"Oh no! It's Ogremon! Run away, run away!"

For a creature without any legs, it certainly ran away fast. Another explosion was heard, closer this time, and the teens huddled together.

"Now what?" Takuya cried as yet another explosion went off.

From the direction of the explosions, another strange creature came running out of the greenery. It was very different from the blob monster that called itself Numemon. This one was red and white, and it resembled a miniature dragon-like creature wearing a yellow scarf. It came running up to them, and skidded to a halt, looking at them in disbelief.

"What? Humans?" it gasped in a voice that suggested it was male. "You're really here? I guess that voice was right."

From behind him, there was another explosion, followed by an angry cry. "Where are you, Shoutmon? Come on out, you coward!"

The creature looked back. "Crap, Ogremon." He turned back to the teens. "I suggest you run. And don't tell him where I am."

He took off running, leaving the teens behind as the owner of the angry voice got closer. A few moments later, a third monster came stomping out. This one was green like Numemon, but that was where the similarities ended. This creature, Ogremon, was a large goblin-like monster. He wielded a large bone-club that he slammed on the ground, which had been the source of the explosion-like sounds they had heard.

"Guys, are you seeing this?" Davis stammered.

Kari backed away. "I want to go home now."

Turning his gaze on the teens, Ogremon regarded them with interest. "Humans? In the Digital World? What are you doing here?"

"Believe me, mister, we'd like to know that too," Takato replied in a fearful voice.

The monster stared at them, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Something's fishy here. Where's Shoutmon?"

"W-What's a Shoutmon?" Kari asked, her voice trembling.

Ogremon growled and slammed his club on the ground. "Don't play dumb with me! Everyone knows Shoutmon, the so-called Digimon King. Small, red and white, pointy ears, wears a yellow scarf, possibly holding a microphone."

Even though they'd had their suspicions, it became apparent that he was talking about the creature that had taken off running seconds before Ogremon had arrived.

"We don't know what you're talking about," Tai told him. "We only got here a little while ago."

Ogremon just sneered. "Really? Well, we'll just see about that. I'll just have to pound the answers out of you."

TK held up his hands. "Hey, wait, we really don't know!"

Ogremon just chuckled. "If you don't know, then there's no harm done."

"I think your logic is seriously flawed," said Takato as panic crept into his voice.

"It works for me," Ogremon replied, lifting his club. _"Bone Cud-"_

" _Rock and Roller!"_

From out of the trees, the red and white creature that had hid from Ogremon earlier came leaping out, catching the green monster's attention. He was wielding what seemed to be a microphone on its stand, which he used to whack Ogremon over the head.

"Ouch!" the large beast grumbled, rubbing his head. "That was dirty."

"So was this," Shoutmon replied. _"Fiery Fastball!"_

He threw a ball of energy that exploded against Ogremon's face. While the monster was stunned, Shoutmon turned to the teens and motioned for them to follow him.

"Quick, this way!"

With Ogremon angrily waving around his club, it only took a moment for the teens to decide to follow him. Ogremon cried out furiously as he stomped after them.

"It's a dead end!" Tai cried as they came to a large metal wall.

"No, look here," said Shoutmon, moving aside some bushes to reveal a small hole in the wall. "We'll lose him through here."

"That's gonna be tight," TK noted. "Kari, you go first."

"Hey, I was gonna say that," Davis complained.

"Now's not the time," said Kari as she dropped to her stomach and crawled trough the small space. Each of the boys followed after her until only Shoutmon remained.

"Where do you think you're going?" Ogremon demanded as he caught up. _"Pummel Whack!"_

He fired a blast of dark energy from his fist. Shoutmon quickly dodged and scampered through the hole, joining the teens on the other side. A few seconds later, Ogremon's ugly face appeared, but he was much too large to fit through.

"Ha, ha!" Shoutmon mocked. "Guess you're too big-headed to get through."

Ogremon glared at him. "I'll get you for this, Shoutmon. You think you can come onto my turf without my permission?"

"Blah, blah, blah," Shoutmon muttered as he ripped up a bush. "Talk to the shrub."

He shoved the uprooted bush into the hole, then turned back to the teens, dusting his hands off. "Well, that takes care of that. And the next time I suggest that you run, you should run. Now come on, lets get out of here."

With that, he began walking away. The teens hesitated for a moment before following.

"Um, excuse me," said Takuya, catching up to him. "Shoutmon was it?"

"That's me."

"Right, uh, could you tell us what's going on here?"

Shoutmon halted mid-step, and turned around to give him a curious look. "You mean you don't know?"

"Know?" cried Davis. "We don't know where we are, what we're doing here, who you are, _what_ you are, we don't know anything."

Shoutmon regarded him for a moment before crossing his arms. "Hmm, that complicates things a bit. I was hoping you could tell me."

"So you don't know either?" Kari asked.

Shoutmon sighed. "All I know is that a few weeks ago, I heard an ominous voice that told me to come here with the Digi-Cards."

He held out his hand, showing them what looked like USB flash drives, each with the picture of a different creature on each one.

"The voice told me I would meet six humans, and to attach these to their selfins."

Tai blinked. "Selfins? What are…? Oh, wait, you mean our cellphones?"

They each took out their cellphones.

"So, attaching these, Digi-Cards you called them, will give us some answers?" TK asked. "Do they have information on them or something?"

Shoutmon just shrugged. "The voice said it'll provide you with Digivices, whatever those are."

Tai stared at his phone. "Well, we're not getting any answers doing nothing. Lets see what happens."

One by one, they handed over their cellphones. Shoutmon took them and stuck a Digi-Card into each of the outlets.

"Ok, Agumon DDNA for you," he said, handing the phone back to Tai, Guilmon DDNA for you," he gave the phone to Takato, "Flamemon DDNA for this young man," Takuya took his phone back, "Patamon DDNA for you," TK received his, "Veemon DDNA for this guy," Davis got his, "and Salamon DDNA for the lovely lady," he winked as he handed Kari her phone.

"Great," said Davis, looking at the Digi-Card sticking out his phone. "So… what's DDNA?"

"Um, Digital DNA, duh," Shoutmon replied, as if this should be obvious. "It contains the Fractal Code of a Digimon."

Takato examined his phone. "Ok, what's a Fractal Code? And what's a Digi-"

He didn't get to finish his question as each of their cellphones began flashing brightly. Glowing with a white light, their phones changed shape in their hands to become unfamiliar devices as the light died down, the Digi-Cards seemingly having been integrated into the devices.

"Whoa, what are these?" Takuya asked in amazement.

TK examined his. "I guess these are those Digivice things."

"Well, what happened to my cell?" Davis demanded. "I paid good money for that phone."

They looked at Shoutmon for answers, but he just shrugged and shook his head. "Hey, don't look at me. I have no idea what's going on here either."

Tai placed his Digivice in his pocket. "Well, you obviously know more than we do, so how about you tell us what you do know, starting with where we are."

Shoutmon crossed his arms, contemplating this. "Well, for starters, this is the Digital World. It's a world that exists parallel to yours where everything is made up of data. It's inhabited by Digimon and other Digital life forms."

"Digi what?" Takato asked.

"Digimon. It's short for Digital Monster. And that's what I am. The name's Shoutmon, and I'm the king of the Digital World."

The others stared at him with hooded eyes, seemingly unconvinced by his last statement.

"You're the king of the entire world?" Takuya asked doubtfully.

Shoutmon arrogantly nodded. "You bet."

"Then why are you running from that Ogremon guy?"

A sweat-drop ran down the Digimon's head. "I'm just, uh… in a bit of a slump right now, but trust me, I'm the Digimon King."

"Found you!" came Ogremon's voice as he dropped down from up above. "Ha! Did you think that puny wall would keep you safe?"

The teens backed away from him, taking refuge behind Shoutmon.

"Ok, king," said Tai, "show us what you can do."

Ogremon laughed. "A mere Rookie like him beating a Champion like me? How utterly ridiculous."

Shoutmon's eyes narrowed. "I'll show you ridiculous. _Fiery Fastball!"_

Ogremon batted away the attack. "That won't work twice."

Shoutmon growled and produced his microphone. "Then how about this. _Bellow Blaster!"_

" _Pummel Whack!"_

As Shoutmon unleashed energy from his microphone, Ogremon fired another blast of dark energy from his fist. The attacks collided and exploded, but Ogremon's contained more power, and Shoutmon was knocked back.

" _Bone Cudgel!"_ Ogremon cried, rushing towards Shoutmon and whacking him with his club.

The smaller Digimon went flying backwards. Tai lunged forward and caught him. Lifting him up, he carried the dazed Digimon in his arms as he ran towards the others. "Run for it!"

Not needing to be told twice, they ran from the large green monster. Ogremon laughed as he watched them flee, not even bothering to give chase just yet. "You think you can escape from me? _Pummel Whack!"_

He fired a blast of energy at their retreating forms. It struck the ground in front of them and exploded, the blast sending them flying. Tai kept hold of Shoutmon as he landed painfully on his side, protecting their new friend with his body.

In his arms, Shoutmon groaned. "Don't risk your lives for my sake," he told the human holding him. "Just get out of here while you still can."

"No way," Tai replied, his determination evident. "We don't leave our friends behind."

A weary smile crept up Shoutmon's face. "Friends… I forgot how nice it is to be with friends."

"How sweet," Ogremon grumbled as he marched over to the two of them. "I think I'm going to get a cavity."

Keeping hold of Shoutmon protectively, Tai scooted back. As he did so, something by his feet caught his eye. His Digivice had fallen out of his pocket and rested on the ground. He grabbed it and gave it a desperate look. "If this thing is supposed to do anything useful, now would be a pretty good time."

Ogremon stopped as he towered over the human and Digimon. "Stop jabbering and prepare to die."

Shoutmon glared up at him. "You first!"

He leapt out of Tai's arms to attack. Ogremon simple backhanded him, sending the dragon Digimon crashing into a tree, then fixed his red eyes on Tai. "You're about to learn why no good deed goes unpunished." He raised his club. "Say goodbye, human!"

"Tai!" Kari shouted, fearing for her brother's life, but unable to do anything to help. "Get out of there!"

As Ogremon brought down his club, the Digivice in Tai's hands suddenly flashed brightly, causing the big green Digimon to stumble back, seeing stars. "What's this now?" he demanded, shading his eyes from the light.

Tai was wondering the same thing as what appeared to be ribbons of bar code, like the kind found on sales products, flowed out of his Digivice. Seemingly made of light, these ribbons were light blue with hues of various other colors mixed in; they were truly beautiful. That is, until they began wrapping around him, forming a type of cocoon.

"What's happening?" he cried as the ribbons completely surrounded him.

He was now completely engulfed in an oval-shaped cocoon of ribbons. No, not an oval, more of an egg shape. The others stared in amazement at the shining egg shape the ribbons had formed.

"That's Fractal Code," Ogremon observed. "Just what's going on here?"

He was suddenly forced backwards as the "egg" grew to a much larger size. Once it reached its full size, it burst open, sending "shell" shards of Fractal Code flying everywhere before they disappeared.

Tai was gone. In his place was a large dinosaur-like creature. It resembled an orange Tyrannosaurus Rex with blue stripes, and it seemed to be wearing a horned brown skull helmet or mask over the upper portion of its face.

Breathing a cloud of smoke, the dinosaur opened its mouth, exposing long sharp teeth as it roared to the sky. "Greymon!"

 **(A/N: Yes, I'm going with the Frontier theme of turning into Digimon. But that's it. There's not going to be any digitizing Fractal Code or purifying, no spirits, or any of that other stuff. It's mostly going to be like the first two Seasons with some Season 3 themes, and the ability of the DigiDestined to turn into Digimon. Though I'll be borrowing elements from the different Seasons, I'll be making the story my own, so I hope you'll all stay tuned. We've got a the first fight of many next chapter, so I hope to see you then.)**

 **Shoutmon's attacks:**

 **Fiery Fastball – _Throws a fiery_ _energy ball_** ** _in the shape of an eighth note_** ** _._**

 **Bellow Blaster – _Uses mic to amplify his emotions and bash his opponent with a heated blaze._**

 **Rock and Roller – _U_ _ses mic as weapon._**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _DOT _**in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Numemon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Shoutmon** **#(King)**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Ogremon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Agumon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Veemon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Guilmon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Flamemon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Salamon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Patamon**


	3. Chapter 3: Digital Battle

**(A/N: Alrighty then, enough with the build up of anticipation. Time to get to some action. Lets see how Tai handles being a Digimon and how he fairs against Ogremon.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 3: Digital Battle**

Tai felt different. His body felt strange, like it wasn't his own. And not just not his own, but also not even human. He didn't know how that was possible, but considering that he was now looking _down_ at Ogremon, when just seconds ago he had been looking up, it was at least safe to say that he was now a giant.

His senses had changed too. He could see clearer, hear better, and smell a lot more. But, more than that, he felt _powerful_. It was a strength that couldn't even compare to being human, and it was amazing.

' _What happened to me?'_ he wondered.

Glancing at his hands, he saw that they weren't hands anymore at all. They had transformed into claws, claws that looked as if they belonged to some type of dinosaur.

' _What am I?'_

The panicked thought raced through his mind as he realized he had become a monster.

' _Greymon.'_ The name echoed inside his head. _'I am Greymon.'_

He never even heard the name before, but he somehow instinctively knew that this was the name for this form, and he roared it to the sky.

Down below, Ogremon hesitated as he looked up at the dinosaur Digimon. "What kind of trickery is this?"

Leaning against the tree he crashed into, Shoutmon cracked open an eye. "He turned… into Greymon?" A humorous smile crept up his face. "Right, the Agumon DDNA I gave him. I think… I think I'm beginning to understand."

Ogremon pointed his club at Greymon. "I don't know what you did, but I'm still taking you down!"

He charged at the dinosaur Digimon. The Greymon that was Tai turned his attention towards him. Whatever had happened to him didn't matter right now. Ogremon was a threat, and he now had the strength to fight back and defend his friends. He could figure thongs out after he dealt with him.

His pupils shrinking to mere specks of black, he roared loudly and charged. Ogremon rushed to meet him. Even though he now had claws, Greymon punched downward, his fist shattering the hard ground as Ogremon leapt up in the air, flying over his head.

" _Bone Cudgel!"_ he shouted, bringing his club down on Greymon's head.

Greymon nearly felt as if he would have gone cross-eyed if he had been hit any harder, and was eternally grateful for his bone-like head.

Turning, he chomped at Ogremon, but missed. The ogre Digimon jumped a safer distance away and fired his _Pummel Whack_ , punching outward to fire dark energy from his fist. Greymon cried out as it blasted against him. Ogremon followed up with several more blasts, bombarding the dinosaur Digimon with more dark energy.

As Greymon struggled against the barrage of attacks, he felt something stirring up within him. It was a power not limited to his physical strength, and he somehow knew what it was called, just as he instinctively knew his name. This power was called-

" _Nova Blast!"_

A large fireball flew from his mouth. Ogremon's eyes widened as he ceased his attack and leapt away. He wasn't quite fast enough as the fireball exploded against the ground, and he was caught in the shockwave.

" _Nova Blast!"_ Greymon shouted again. _"Nova Blast!"_

Ogremon cartwheeled out of the way of the first and maneuvered around the second. He leapt at dinosaur Digimon and swung his club, but Greymon's teeth clamped down on it.

"Hey, let go!"

Greymon shook his head, and Ogremon lost his grip, losing his club, and landing on his feet a distance away. Greymon bit down on the club, expecting it to shatter, but instead it surprised him by breaking down into data particles and disappearing.

"Damn you!" Ogremon seethed. "Now I have to materialize another one!"

"Good," Greymon replied, noting for the first time that his voice was different from his human form. "So why don't you run along and do that."

Ogremon's fists clenched. "Oh, I will, after I take you out. _Strong Maul!"_

He leapt at Greymon. The dinosaur Digimon instinctively felt another attack power well up within him, similar to what he felt when he fired his _Nova Blast_ , only this one was more physical. He knew what this attack was called too, and he unleashed it.

" _Tail Crash!"_ he cried, spinning around and swinging his tail. It slammed into Ogremon, sending the ogre Digimon crashing into the forest. Greymon stormed over to where he crashed, placing himself between Ogremon and his friends, ready to defend them should Ogremon attempt a sneak attack.

The ogre Digimon's ugly face reappeared, and he was sneering at Greymon. "Hey, look what I found."

He held up the creature they had met earlier, Numemon. The poor mollusk Digimon was shaking like a leaf in Ogremon's grasp, giving Greymon a pleading look. "Please help me!"

Greymon's eyes narrowed at Ogremon. "Let him go."

The ogre Digimon snickered. "Whatever you say."

He squeezed tightly, his claws digging into Numemon's flesh. The mollusk Digimon cried out, and was suddenly gone. His body seemed to burst apart into pixelated pieces and scatter. His data lingered behind for a few moments, floating in the air, and Ogremon held out his arms to it. The data then flowed towards him and entered his body as he sneered wickedly.

"Thanks for the power boost," he mockingly told the deceased Digimon, then pointed at his opponent. "You're next, big guy." He charged at Greymon again, leaping into the air and punching outward. _"Feint Punch!"_

Greymon saw the fist coming, but it disappeared before it hit him. He still felt the impact of Ogremon's fist though, and it immediately reappeared back at the ogre Digimon's side before he threw another.

The disappearing punches kept coming, knocking him farther and farther back until Ogremon hit him with a savage uppercut, knocking him off his feet. He had no idea how someone so much smaller in comparison could knock around someone as big as him, but clearly a great deal of strength could be packed into small bodies in this world.

This was demonstrated further by Ogremon grabbing him by the tail while he was down. He swung Greymon around and threw him into the air, and he came crashing down.

"Serves you right," he taunted "I'm not the ruler of this area for nothing." He turned to the teens, who had been watching the battle with open mouths. "And now you'll all pay for trespassing, starting with the pretty one."

Greymon stirred. The "pretty one", as Ogremon called her, could only be Kari. Like hell would he let that creep hurt his sister, or any of his friends for that matter. He may have only known Takato, Takuya, and Shoutmon for a short while, but he already considered them to be his friends, and he was not about to let them fall prey to this monster.

Jumping to his feet, he roared as he charged at Ogremon. The ogre Digimon turned to him again as Greymon opened his mouth to chomp down on him. Ogremon's hands shot out, grabbing his upper and lower jaws, holding his mouth open with great effort. His feet dug into the ground, halting Greymon's charge as he held him back.

"Do you think I would allow a human pretending to be a Digimon get the best of me?" he demanded.

As he held Greymon's mouth open, he noticed a light beginning to flicker in the back of the dinosaur Digimon's throat, and immediately realized his mistake. "Oh crap."

" _Nova Blast!"_ Greymon bellowed, firing his attack upon Ogremon at point blank range. The ogre Digimon cried out as the attack blasted against him in a fiery explosion. Just as what happened with Numemon, his own body broke down into data and scattered. His data lingered around as well, waiting to be claimed, but Greymon was unaware of how to absorb a defeated opponent's data. After several seconds of no activity, the lingering data simply vanished.

Greymon stood up straight, victorious. That had been the most unusual fight he'd ever been in. It wasn't everyday you turned into a monster and fought against another. This was definitely an experience he would never forget.

Turning to his friends, he went to check on them. Fully aware that he may frighten them, he approached as carefully as he could so he wouldn't scare them off. "Hey, you guys ok?"

They stared at him, completely flabbergasted. With great effort, TK managed to find his voice. "T-Tai… is that really you?"

Greymon scratched his chin. "Um, yeah, I guess so. I have no idea what happened though. My Digivice somehow turned me into this."

Davis was the next to speak. "Dude… that was… _awesome!_ " He looked at Shoutmon, who had limped over to them. "Hey, will I be able to do that too?"

Shoutmon just chuckled. "Well, I assume so."

"Sweet!"

Kari was still staring at her brother with a blank expression on her face. She cautiously approached, hesitantly reaching out for him. "Tai…?"

He leaned down to her. "Yeah, it's me, Kari."

His face was ground level now. She slowly moved to touch him, her hand grazing his nose before pulling back.

"It's ok," he reassured her. "I would never hurt you."

Slowly, she reached for him again. This time when she touched him, she did not pull away. After a few moments, she rested against his snout with tears in her eyes. "Mom's going to have a cow when she sees you like this."

Greymon chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah, that's for sure."

"Hey, I think it's an improvement," said Davis. The others gave him a look. "No, I'm serious. Look at you, you're a freakin' fire-breathing dinosaur! That's so cool!" He took out his own Digivice and began playing with it. "So, how do I turn into one too?"

Shoutmon walked over to them. "First of all, he's not a dinosaur, he's a Greymon, a Champion level Digimon. Second of all, before you even ask, no, I have no idea how this happened. If I had to guess, I'd say Agumon's Fractal Code somehow allowed you to turn into his Digivolved form."

Greymon turned to him curiously. "I'm not sure I understand all that, but do you know how I can change back?"

Shoutmon crossed his arms, thinking. "Hmm, that's hard to say. You're a human that turned into a Digimon, not a Digimon that Digivolved. This is completely unheard of. I suppose if you try to DeDigivolve, you'll resume your human form."

Greymin blinked. "DeDigi-what? All these Digi-words are confusing."

The dragon Digimon sighed. "Ok, just picture yourself in your human form. Imagine yourself changing back to it. While you're doing that, try and expel Greymon's data from your body. Just take all that power you got when you… um, transformed and push it out of your body."

Feeling uncertain, Greymon's scratched his chin. "Um, ok, I'll try."

He closed his eyes, imaging himself turning into a human once again while trying to force the power he now felt away. It appeared to be working as his body began glowing with a golden light. He felt his body losing its shape as he shrank down. The light faded as he became human once more, holding his Digivice in his hands.

"Hey, it worked!" he exclaimed, examining himself to make sure he was really back to normal.

"Oh, Tai!" Kari cried, wrapping her arms around him."

He patted her back reassuringly. "Hey, everything's ok. I'm fine."

"I'll say," said Takato. "You just took out that Ogremon guy, and you don't even have a scratch on you."

Yes, now that he mentioned it, he was perfectly fine. A little sore, but he didn't have any of the injuries he should have had after having taken a beating like that. It seemed that when he was Greymon, not only was his body much more durable, but also any injuries he obtained didn't directly carry over to his human form.

But there were still many questions they needed answers to, and so he turned his attention to Shoutmon. "I think it's time you told us everything that you know."

 **(A/N: Our first fight. And it got a little emotional towards the end there with Kari and Greymon. I wanted to try and portray what would go on in Tai's head in his new body and how he would deal with everything that came with it. And as he pointed out, there are a lot of questions that need answering. Will Shoutmon be able to give them the answers they need? And what about getting home? Are they stranded in this strange new world? Find out next time.)**

 **Greymon's attacks:**

 **Nova Blast ****– _S_** _ **pews a fireball.**_

 **Great Horns Attack ****– _Impales_** _ **opponent with his horns.**_

 **Horn Impulse ****– _A_** _ **ttacks with his horns.**_

 **Tail Crash ****– _H_** _ **its with his tail.**_

 **Fire Wall ****– _S_** _ **pews a wall of fire to block attacks.**_

 **Fire Horn ****– _Ignites horns with fire and attacks._**

 **Bit Fire ****– _B_** _ **reaths fire.**_

 **Great Antler Bash ****– _H_** _ **eadbutts.**_

 **Tail Whip ****– effects unknown**

 **Horn Spiral** **– effects unknown**

 **Grey Tooth ****– effects unknown**

 **Great Tooth ****– effects unknown**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the _DOT _ in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Greymon**


	4. Chapter 4: Sharing Stories

**(A/N: This chapter is mostly about the teens learning about the Digital World and about Digimon. I know we know about it, but they don't so they'll be getting a crash course.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 4: Sharing Stories**

Shoutmon sighed. "I'm afraid you know just about as much as I do."

"But you're a resident of this, um, world," Takuya insisted. "Surely you must know something."

"I'm telling you, I don't. I've never even seen a real human before, let alone see one turn into a Digimon. This is completely unheard of."

"Ok, fair enough," Tai relented. "Then could you at least tell us how to get home?"

Shoutmon rolled his eyes. "Do I look like an expert on inter-dimensional travel?"

"Hey," Davis complained, "I thought you were supposed to be the king of this world. How can you not know?"

"Being king doesn't mean that I know everything. Does the king of your world know everything?"

"Actually," said TK, "we don't have a king of our world. We do have leaders of different nations, but none of them have all the answers either."

"See."

Takato looked up at the floating "Earth" in the sky. "Well, what about that?"

Shoutmon looked up. "Huh? That? That's nothing. It's more or less a giant floating landmass. Just watch out for those data streams. If you get caught up in one of those, you'll be transported to another location in the Digital World, and you'll never know where you'll end up."

"The Digital World," Takuya repeated. "Well, since we're strangers here, why don't you tell us about this place, and just what Digimon are."

Before Shoutmon could reply, there was a hideous shriek. Looking in the direction of the source, they saw a giant red insect Digimon flying around.

Shoutmon growled. "Oh, great, Kuwagamon."

"Who?" Tai asked.

At his question, their Digivices began beeping. Takato took out his and pressed the flashing red button on it. His Digivice immediately projected a hologram of the Digimon along with a written description, which he read out loud.

"Kuwagamon, Champion level, special attack _Scissor Claw_. Yikes, that's one nasty guy, and he's aggressive to boot."

"He must have been drawn here by the battle," Shoutmon replied. "Probably hoping to pick off the injured and weakened. Come on, let's get out of here before he finds us, I'll explain on the way."

Keeping low, they used the trees for cover as they attempted to remain hidden as they snuck away.

"So, what's with that guy?" Davis asked, referring to Kuwagamon. "Is he, like, a scavenger or something?"

Shoutmon shook his head. "No, he'll just pretty much slice apart anyone he comes across. It's in his nature. He probably just saw this as an easy way to get some data."

"What's that mean?" Tai asked, pushing some branches out of the way.

He received a strange look from the dragon Digimon. "Don't you know? You saw yourself when you fought Ogremon. Remember when he destroyed Numemon? He absorbed his data afterwards."

Tai recalled the way Numemon's body had broken down into small particles, and the way Ogremon had absorbed them. "Oh, so that's what that was. I was wondering."

Shoutmon nodded. "That's what we Digimon do. We battle in order to absorb an opponent's data to become stronger and Digivolve."

Takato seemed to take an interest in this. "Sounds kind of like Pokémon."

Shoutmon blinked. "What's that? A new type of Digimon? I never heard of him. Is he strong? What level is he?"

"What? No, it's not a Digimon, it's a video game. Also a card game, and an anime, and a manga, and a movie series, and a-"

Shoutmon held up his hand to stop him. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

TK couldn't help but chuckle. "So, what's Digivolving?"

"Oh, you don't know about that? It's a the process of transforming into a stronger and more advanced version of yourself once you obtain enough data."

"So it's like when a Pokémon evolves after gaining enough experience points," Takato noted.

"Enough with Pokémon," Davis told him.

"What? It's a good game. My favorite actually."

Shoutmon scowled. "I don't know who this Pokémon is, but Digimon battle isn't game. While most Digimon are content to live a life of peace, there are those that constantly seek battle."

"That's horrible," Kari replied. "So Ogremon murdered Numemon just to get stronger?"

Shoutmon just shrugged. "It happens, but he got his in the end, didn't he? Now he's got to start over too."

This earned him bewildered looks from the teens.

"What do you mean, 'start over'?" Takuya asked. "They're dead."

The dragon Digimon shrugged again. "Well, yeah, but they won't be for long." At their confused looks, he sighed. "Digimon are reborn when they die. They just revert to their egg forms. Don't you humans do that?"

TK shook his head. "No, once we die, we stay dead. And we don't come from eggs either."

Shoutmon scratched his head. "Really? Huh, that's strange. So you don't come from eggs and you stay dead when you die. Weird."

"So Digimon never really actually die?" Kari asked.

"Of course not, our data is just reconfigured."

Davis beamed. "Cool, so it's like they're immortal. How's that work?"

Shoutmon thought best how to explain it. "Well, you see, we Digimon possess what's called a Digi-Core. This core contains our basic data. We accumulate data and Digivolve over time, but when we die, all the data we've gathered over our lifetime is lost, and we're left with just our basic data contained in our Digi-Core. This data is then reconfigured into a Digi-Egg from which we hatch from and start our lives all over again."

Takuya nodded in understanding. "Ok, I think I'm getting it. Basically, when a Digimon dies, they have to start over from scratch."

"Boy, that's gotta be annoying," Davis mumbled. "It'd be like we live years of our lives trying to get better at soccer, but when we lose a single game, we have to regain those skills and experience all over again."

Shoutmon raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what soccer is, but it sounds like you've got the basic idea." He began counting off on his fingers. "We start out as Digi-Eggs, this is called the Digitama level. Once we hatch, we start at the Baby level, or Fresh level as it's sometimes called. Then we Digivolve to the In-Training level, followed by Rookie, Champion, Ultimate, and ending with Mega, that's the highest level we can reach. It _is_ possible for some Digimon to Digivolve again after that, but they're still considered to be Megas."

He taped his chin. "Although there are some very rare occasions where when a Mega Digimon level Digivolves, the stage they reach is so high that it's no longer considered a Mega. We call that the Ultra level. Only, like, seven Digimon have ever managed to achieve it."

This got TK thinking. "Seven, huh? How many different types of Digimon are there?"

Shoutmon thought about it. "Um, that's hard to say. I believe the last official count consisted of 1,182."

"That many?" Takuya cried. "Jeez, talk about a variety of different species."

"And the number's growing," Shoutmon told them. "New stages are being discovered all the time. Different circumstances cause different Digimon to Digivolve to different stages."

"So what species of Digimon are you?" Kari asked curiously.

Shoutmon would have raised an eyebrow if he had one. "What do you mean? Obviously I'm a Shoutmon."

This time it was Tai who raised an eyebrow. "Wait, so you're a Shoutmon named Shoutmon?"

"Hey, that's also like Pokémon," Takato noted.

Davis' eye twitched, but he chose to ignore the Pokémon remark. "Doesn't that get confusing? I mean, how do you tell each other apart? Like if you were with a bunch of other Shoutmon and then someone comes along and calls for you, how do you know they're talking about you?"

Shoutmon scoffed at this. "We can detect the differences between us, obviously. Why? How does your kind tell who is who?"

"Well, we look different," Takato pointed out. "And we have different names too. Like me, I'm Takato."

"I'm Tai."

"Kari."

"TK."

"Davis."

"Takuya."

Shoutmon looked at each of them questioningly. "So you're names aren't what you are?" And it's Takato, not Takatomon?"

The boy shook his head. "No, no mon in it. We also have last names and middle names too."

The dragon Digimon seemed confused and turned away, looking weary. "Humans are strange."

"I think it'd be stranger to name yourself after what you are," Davis replied. "That'd be like referring to ourselves by our nationality, like that anime _Hetalia._ "

Takato chuckled. "That show was classic."

Tai cleared his throat. "Lets just chalk it up to cultural differences. So, putting the subject of names on hold for now, I'm a little concerned about this rebirth thing." He glanced at the others. "Since we all have Digivices, I'm guessing that means that we all have the ability to turn into Digimon. If Digimon are reborn, what would happen to one of us if we died as a Digimon?"

Crossing his arms, Shoutmon gave this some serious thought. "That's hard to say. You're humans that turn into Digimon, but you're still humans. You lack Digi-Cores, and you're Digivices are what contain the data that allows you to become Digimon. If humans really stay dead when they die, then I would assume that if you're killed as Digimon, you would stay dead, but the data that turned you into Digimon would endure inside the Digivices, just like it would with a normal Digimon and their Digi-Core."

Takato sweat-dropped. "So what you're saying is that if we're killed, we would stay dead, even if we're Digimon at the time, but real Digimon always get to come back? That's not fair."

"Yeah," Davis agreed. "What's to stop Ogremon from taking his revenge on us tomorrow?"

But Shoutmon just waved this off. "I wouldn't worry about that. It takes time to Digivolve from one level to the next. Once a Digi-Egg rematerializes, it usually takes a few days to hatch. Then it usually takes a Baby Digimon several weeks to Digivolve to the In-Training level, and several years to reach the Rookie level."

He placed his hands behind his head as he leisurely strolled along. "We can usually reach the Rookie level on our own with time and training, but after that, in order to Digivolve further, we need to start absorbing data. Even so, it normally takes several decades to reach the Champion level, and several centuries to reach Ultimate. Most Digimon never make it to the Mega level, but it takes a _long_ time for those that do unless there are extenuating circumstances most likely a millennium or two."

Takuya tried to process all this. "So, wait, you guys must have like a _super_ long lifespan then."

Shoutmon gave him a strange look. "Unless we're killed, our lifespans are eternal. We're considered to be babies at the Baby and In-Training level, children at the Rookie level, and adults at the Champion and up, but it has no bearings on our ages."

Davis whistled. "Lucky. We humans only live about 80 or 90 years."

Shoutmon's mouth dropped open. "So you have limited lifespans _and_ you stay dead. Sheesh, being human sucks."

"Hey!"

"Well," said Kari, "our souls live on after our deaths. Do you Digimon have souls?"

Shoutmon rolled his eyes. "Duh. Just what do you think our Digi-Cores are? It contains everything we are and will be. Or could be for that matter."

Tai's eyebrows rose with interest. "Could be?"

"Oh, sure. We Digimon have numerous Digivolution lines we can take. Each one has a different nature. When Ogremon's egg hatches, if he takes a different Digivolution path, he could become a really nice guy if it's in his form's nature."

"Wow," said TK, "talk about your different life choices. And I thought deciding what you want to be when you grew up was a hard decision." As an afterthought he added, "I always wanted to be a novelist."

Kari smiled. "I want to be a kindergarten teacher."

Davis puffed out his chest. "I want to open a noodle cart," he said proudly. This earned him strange looks from everyone, and he gave them a blank look. "What?"

"Well," said Tai, "in order to do that, we'll need to find a way home."

Shoutmon waved his arms. "I told you, I don't know how to get you home! I didn't even know it was possible to cross over!" His eyes widened and he snapped his fingers. "But I know someone that might. He may even be able to answer more of our questions, such as how you got here in the first place, and why you can turn into Digimon."

"Great," Takuya replied. "Who is it?"

Shoutmon grinned. "He's an old friend of mine, a wise and powerful Mega level Digimon named Cherubimon. He and I go way back. If anyone can help you out, he can."

Tai grasped the air excitedly. "Awesome. So how do we get to him?"

"Oh," Shoutmon replied. "He lives across the ocean, and over many miles of land."

That wasn't exactly what they had been hoping to hear, and his statement was met with silence until…

"Are you kidding me?" Davis shouted.

The dragon Digimon winced. "Hey, it's not my fault he's so far away. We are on an island after all."

"Perfect," Tai muttered sarcastically. "So how are we supposed to get there?"

A grin crept up Shoutmon's face and his eyes lit up. "Don't worry, I'll take you there. And along the way, I'll help you master your Digimon forms." He rubbed his hands together gleefully. _'And they can help me with a few of my problems as well.'_

Kari gave him an appreciative smile. "Thanks, Shoutmon. We definitely owe you for this."

He grinned. "Actually, I'm the one who owes you guys for saving me from Ogremon," he pointed out. "So, as King of the Digital World, I hereby dub you six… um… the, uh, the DigiDestined Data Squad!"

Takato blinked. "Um, the Digi who now?"

"Digi Digi, mon mon," Davis complained. "What's with all these unoriginal names? Digimon, Digivolve, Digi-Port, Digi-Card, Digi-Core, Digi-Egg, Digivolution, Digitama, Digivice, DigiDestined. Am I leaving any out? And why does everyone's name end in 'mon'? What's that even mean?"

"Doesn't it mean 'monster'?" TK asked. He looked back at the dragon Digimon. "You're a Shoutmon, meaning you're a 'shout monster', right?"

"No, I'm a Rookie level dragon Digital Monster. You don't see me calling you 'TK human', or 'Takuya human', do you?"

Takuya blinked. "Hey, I didn't say anything; don't bring me into this."

"You guys, stop it," Tai interrupted. "What we need to worry about is how to get to this Cherubimon guy. Shoutmon, how do we get there?"

Before he could reply, several leaves and branches came falling down on top of them. Looking up, they saw Kuwagamon resting on the treetop, looking down at them with drool dripping from its jaws as its pincers snapped.

"Um, I think we have a bigger problem," TK muttered.

 **(A/N: More trouble. I'm sure everyone remembers how nasty Kuwagamon can be. But at least our heroes have a new friend to help them out. And it's the supposed king of the Digital World too. But at least he's agreed to help. Going to see Cherubimon is a Season 4 theme, but it's not to defeat him in this. Also, as you've probably guessed, Takato's love for Digimon has been substituted for Pokémon. I also through in Guilmon's misunderstanding about adding the 'mon' at the end of their names. I also addressed a few of the things I always wondered about, like how Digimon tell each other apart. And yes, there are, as of now 1,182 different Digimon at this time, but that number will more than likely go up, especially with the upcoming** _ **Digimon Tri**_ **. And for when I was describing the Digivolution levels, that part about the Super Ultimate level also being known as the Ultra level is what the English dub are calling it. That'll take some getting used to. That's pretty much all I have to say. Sorry for the cliffhanger ending. I'll see you next time.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the _DOT _ in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Cherubimon#Cherubimon_.28Good.29**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Kuwagamon**


	5. Chapter 5: Bug Off

**(A/N: Ok, we've got another battle scene coming up. This one will be longer and more action packed than the last one. So, any guesses as to who will become a Digimon this time and who they are?)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 5: Bug Off**

Kuwagamon crawled down the tree, towering over them even taller than Ogremon, and looking far more ferocious.

"Darn it," Shoutmon grumbled. "I thought we got away from him." He cracked his knuckles. "Well, here goes nothing. _Fiery Fastball!"_

He threw the fireball, and it exploded against the insect Digimon's face, making it growl.

"Bad idea," he acknowledged nervously.

"Yeah, no kidding," said Tai.

Shoutmon materialized his microphone. "Fine then try this one on for size." He charged at Kuwagamon, raising his mic. _"Rock and Ro-"_

Kuwagamon backhanded him, sending the dragon Digimon flying until he disappeared into the sky.

"Some king," Davis muttered.

The insect Digimon's attention shifted to them, and his claw shot out. The teens dove out of the way as Kuwagamon's claw shattered the ground.

"Didn't we just get out of a situation like this?" Kari rhetorically asked.

"Hey, Tai," Takato called, "better turn into Greymon again."

He nodded. "Good idea."

"No, wait!" Davis cried, whipping out his Digivice. "I'll do it this time." He held up his Digivice. "Go, Digimon transformation!"

They waited, but nothing happened. Even Kuwagamon stared at them curiously, but quickly lost his patience and growled.

Davis frowned and began tapping his Digivice. "Hey, why isn't it working?"

With a snarl, Kuwagamon swiped at him. He ducked down, dropping his Digivice as the insect Digimon approached. Making a grab for it, he pulled it out of the way right before Kuwagamon would have stomped down on it.

"Quick, run!" TK shouted.

Davis didn't need to be told twice and quickly followed after the others. "I don't understand. Why didn't it work?"

"Who knows?" said Takato. "Maybe it takes longer for some to get started."

"Well, what did you do for yours, Tai?" Kari asked.

Still running, he looked down at his Digivice. "I have no idea. Maybe I hit a button or something."

"Better start pressing buttons then," TK suggested, "cause here he comes."

Snarling, Kuwagamon flew overhead, his pincers snapping together. Lashing out with his claws, he cried, _"Scissors Claw!"_

"Down!" Takuya shouted, and they all dropped to the ground.

Kuwagamon's claw swiped above them. And while the teens had stopped, the insect Digimon had kept flying. But he quickly doubled back, speeding towards them again.

"Quick, this way!" Kari cried, jumping to her feet and rushing into the trees.

Following her, they ran off the path and over to a denser part of the forest. Kuwagamon's pincers opened wide to grab them, but they slipped through a group of tightly packed trees with thick trunks. Kuwagamon slammed face first into a tree, a pincer on either side of the trunk, and remained still.

The teens waited a few moments for him to get up, but there was no movement, and they breathed sighs of relief.

"That was close," Tai muttered. "Good call, Kari."

"Yeah, I thought we were done for," said Takato.

Smirking, Davis marched over to the unconscious Kuwagamon. "Knocked yourself out cold, huh? Serves you right, you big bully."

He kicked one of the pincers, and they clamped down on the tree. As Davis yelped and jumped back, Kuwagamon rose to his feet, ripping the entire tree up with him. His pincers squeezed tightly, snapping the entire tree in half. With a vicious snarl, the insect Digimon began forcing his way through the gap he created.

"Now what?" Takato cried. "This guy just keeps coming!"

Tai looked at his Digivice again and began pressing buttons. "If only I could get this stupid thing to work again."

But it wasn't working. The screen remained blank. Becoming frustrated, he began slamming it against the tree. "Come on, you piece of junk! My friends and I are in trouble! We need you to work right now!"

He slammed it against the tree again… and it activated. The image of Agumon appeared on the screen, but the image was then swapped out for Greymon. A button at the top began flashing red, and the words _Spirit Evolution_ appeared across the screen in bright green letters.

"It's working!" he exclaimed as Kuwagamon began to break through.

"Tai, do something!" Kari yelled.

He held up his Digivice, pressing the button at the top as he shouted _"Spirit Evolution!"_

It was the same as before. Bands of Fractal Code flowed out of the Digivice and wrapped around him in an egg-shaped cocoon. And when it burst open, Greymon had returned in Tai's place.

Kuwagamon was taken aback with the sudden appearance of the dinosaur Digimon. Greymon didn't give him time to look as he made a fist and punched the insect Digimon in its eyeless face, knocking it back out onto the path.

Bursting through the trees, Greymon growled as the insect Digimon got to its feet. "So, you thought you could pick on me and my friends. Well, I think you need a lesson in manners. _Nova Blast!"_

Kuwagamon jumped up and began flying, avoiding the attack. With a vicious snarl, he flew at Greymon. _"Body Blow!"_

He tackled the dinosaur Digimon, but Greymon dug his clawed feet into the ground, preventing him from being knocked over. _"Fire Wall!"_

He breathed fire again, but it was different from his _Nova Blast_. Fire seeped out of his mouth and fell to the ground before rising high into the air. A wall of fire now separated him and the insect Digimon, who recoiled from the flames.

"Greymon, you can do it!" Takuya shouted at him.

The dinosaur Digimon glanced at him. _'So they're actually calling me Greymon now?'_

Noticing he was distracted, Kuwagamon flew in. Grabbing him by the horns, he lifted him up in the air. Greymon roared as all his lower bodyweight pulled at his neck. With a cackle, Kuwagamon flew them higher as Greymon struggled to get free.

"Let me go, you overgrown locust. _Fire Horn!"_

The very horns Kuwagamon was holding caught fire. He snarled loudly and dropped him. Greymon plummeted to the ground. Not yet used to his dinosaur body, he was unable to maneuver himself properly and he landed painfully on his back with a grunt.

Kuwagamon circled around overhead as Greymon cracked an eye open. Grumbling, he got to his feet, ignoring his aching back. This insect Digimon was proving to be even stronger than Ogremon, but he wasn't about to give up.

"Well, come on then!" he shouted up at him. "I'm still standing!"

Accepting his challenge, Kuwagamon swooped down towards him. Eyes narrowing, Greymon opened his mouth and fired a series _Nova Blast_ attacks. But Kuwagamon was fast, and he maneuvered around them as he approached.

" _Scissors Claw!"_

Greymon raised his arms, feeling Kuwagamon's claws slash at his skin. He reached out as the insect Digimon flew by, grabbing his leg and pulling him back.

"Ready to go for a ride?"

He began spinning him around, then threw him against the trees. Kuwagamon surprised him though by using his wings to reduce his momentum and kick off a tree, speeding towards the dinosaur Digimon.

Pincers opening, Kuwagamon used his _Trap Scissors_ attack. Greymon grabbed hold of them as they clamped down on his neck, barely preventing them from taking his head off. A feeling of déjà vu hit him as he recalled how he defeated Ogremon.

" _Nova Bla-"_

Kuwagamon's pincers tightened, squeezing Greymon's throat. He gagged on his attack, coughing out a cloud of smoke as he tried to pry off the insect Digimon's mandibles.

"Come on!" Davis shouted. "He's a bug, you're a dinosaur! This should be simple!"

' _Easy for you to say,'_ Greymon thought irritably.

Realizing he wouldn't be able to get the insect Digimon off him, he leaned back, using his tail for balance. Kicking outward, he knocked his foe off him, feeling the sharp pincers scrape his neck.

Planting his feet on the ground, he lowered his head and charged at Kuwagamon, plowing into him with his _Great Antler_ attack. This time it was Kuwagamon that caught him. The two struggled to push the other back as Kuwagamon used his extra arms, to punch Greymon in the side, earning him a painful grunt with each blow.

" _Bit Fire!"_ Greymon roared, opening his mouth to breathe fire. Rather than a fireball, he unleashed a stream of fire. Kuwagamon cringed away from the flames, and Greymon used the opportunity to duck down and jab upwards with his _Horn Impulse_ , impaling the insect Digimon on his horns and lifting him into the air.

"Alright, he got him now!" Takato cheered.

Greymon charged towards the trees, taking Kuwagamon with him, slamming the insect Digimon into the vegetation. Kuwagamon cried out and went down, but immediately started to get to his feet again once Greymon backed off.

"Just stay down," the dinosaur Digimon told him. "There's no point in dragging this out any longer."

In response, Kuwagamon lunged at him. The two became locked together, palms grasped, trying to push the other back, the insect Digimon's extra arms grasping and pushing at Greymon's horns.

" _Power Guillotine!"_ Kuwagamon cried.

His pincers began glowing, and he snapped them at his opponent. Greymon leaned back as far as he could to avoid the glowing pincers, somehow knowing that they would be able to slice his head clean off.

" _Nova Blast!"_

He spat a fireball at the insect Digimon, and it exploded in his face. The insect Digimon stumbled back, and Greymon used the opportunity to spin around and use his _Tail Crash_ attack to knock him back into the trees. He followed up with a series of _Nova Blasts_ , firing off three more against the insect Digimon.

When the smoke cleared. Kuwagamon was standing once more, but he was in bad shape. Greymon was ready, preparing to fire another attack as the insect Digimon stepped forward, only to collapse to the ground. One last snarl escaped him before the breath left his body, and he went still. A moment later, his body burst into data, just as Ogremon's had upon his death, and he was gone.

The threat had passed, and Greymon dropped to a sitting position, exhausted. Remembering what Shoutmon had told him about DeDigivolving, he reverted back to his human form as his sister and his friends rushed over to him.

"Tai!" Kari cried, wrapping her arms around him. "Are you alright? Please tell me you're not hurt."

His hand came up and covered one of hers. "I'm ok, just a little sore. That guy was a lot stronger than Ogremon."

"Yeah, I thought he had you a few times," Takato admitted.

"No way!" Davis cried. "Tai's too awesome to let some overgrown bug take him down!"

Tai gave his look-alike a grateful but sad smile. "I appreciate the good faith, but this isn't a game. To be honest, that fight was pretty tough. And if Kuwagamon was only a Champion, I'd hate to think what an Ultimate is like, let alone a Mega."

TK nodded in agreement. "I say we find a way home before we run into one."

Takuya looked upon the horizon. "We'll need to meet up with this Cherubimon fellow in order to do that. And we need Shoutmon to take us there. We better go find the guy."

"Speaking of which," said Takato, looking around, "did anyone see where he landed?"

"Dude, I don't even know where we are," Davis replied. "I got totally turned around when Kuwagamon came after us."

Kari looked worried. "I hope he's ok. He got hit pretty hard."

Tai forced a smile. "I'm sure it's nothing the 'Digimon King' can't handle, but Takuya's right, we better go look for the little guy."

Holding up his hand to shade his eyes, Takato looked at the setting sun. "We better hurry then. It looks like it's going to be dark soon. I'd hate to be stuck out in the open at night."

TK frowned. "The sun's setting already? But we've only been here for a couple of hours. It shouldn't be getting dark already."

"Maybe the days are shorter here," Kari suggested. "Or maybe we arrived at a different time of day then when it was in Japan."

"That makes sense," her brother agreed. "Earth alone has several different time zones. If we're really in another world, it only makes sense that we'd most likely end up in another time zone than the one we were in, even if the days here are also 24 hours."

Feeling uncertain, Takato looked to the others. "So, should we go look for Shoutmon, or should we find some shelter?"

Takuya glanced at his watch. "I say we search for Shoutmon for a little bit. If we can't find him in about half an hour, we'll look for shelter."

Tai nodded in agreement. "Good idea. But stay together. The last thing we need is for someone else getting lost."

 **(A/N: A tougher battle than the one with Ogremon. I bet you thought someone else was going to Spirit Evolve, huh? Well, not today. Tai still saved the day though. But now they're lost without a guide. What's become of Shoutmon? What will become of them? You'll have to stay tuned for more. Next chapter will be a bit more interesting. I am to update every week. See you then. And if you have any guesses as to who will Spirit Evolve next or of any Digimon they should fight, feel free to let me know. This is going to be a long ongoing fic, so I'm open for suggestions.)**


	6. Chapter 6: Little Devil

**(A/N: I had trouble logging on the past two days. Anyone else have that problem? Actually, that may have been my fault. I noticed that even though I was getting Reviews for my stories, the Hits weren't increasing. I contacted the site administrators, and two days later, the login wasn't working. I assumed they were fixing the problem. Anyway, apparently I can log in again. So, here's the next chapter, that I had an especially good time writing.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 6: Little Devil**

The mini-devil Digimon kicked a rock as he wandered around the forest. He was completely and utterly bored. There wasn't anything he hated more than being bored. What he needed was some entertainment.

"I gotta get off this ruddy island and back into the world where all the real fun is," he muttered.

Picking up a random leaf, he set it ablaze, watching as it was reduced to ashes in less than a second. Playing with fire was fun to some degree, but he'd much rather have someone else to play with. He, however, would most likely be the only one having fun though.

A sleepy grunt drew his attention. He recognized the sleeping form of the Champion level vegetation Digimon known as Woodmon. Pouting, he hopped away from it, jumping into a tree. For a moment, he thought he'd found someone to amuse himself with, but he knew he was no match for a Champion.

"Being a Rookie is no fun. How can yous find anyone to pick on if they can all kick your butt, huh? Ba-boom."

He laid back with his arms behind his head, bending one knee as he let his other one hang over the side. Glancing back at Woodmon, he considered throwing a fireball in its face for a rude awakening and then making a run for it. Woodmon were known for having a temper though. If it found him, he might find himself as a Digi-Egg again. He'd only just become a Rookie a couple of weeks ago; he was in no hurry to become an egg again any time soon. But by the Sovereigns he was _bored_.

Before he could decide whether or not to risk it, he noticed a light in the distance. It was the light of a fire, he knew this for sure due to his experience with the element.

Jumping from tree branch to tree branch, he made his way closer to the light. He saw it was indeed coming from a fire, a campfire from to be more precise. There were a total of six strange creatures around it. Five were asleep while one remained awake, tending to the fire. He had no idea what these things were. Perhaps some new species of Digimon? Or maybe even an entirely different Digital life form altogether; there were a few non-Digimon Digital creatures in the world, such as the DigiGnomes.

A mischievous smile crept up his face. "Well, whatever these things are, I plan on havin' some fun with them, bada boom!"

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

TK was on watch duty. It was decided that they would each take 90 minute shifts throughout the night to make sure that the fire didn't go out, and to make sure no one attacked them. Tai, whom all of them seemed to look to for leadership, had wanted to take the first watch, but after having fought twice today already, the other had insisted he go to bed, and it was decided that he would take the last shift.

Davis had had the previous shift, and he had barely woken up TK for his turn before he was out like a light, snoring loudly. So now he sat here, watching the fire burn, occasionally adding more wood to it. He thought about his parents and brother back in the Real World. They must be worried sick about him. He wished he could at least let them know he was ok and trying to get back to them.

They'd had no luck finding Shoutmon. None of them had wanted to admit it, but they had to consider the possibility that he was dead. He had gone flying pretty far after Kuwagamon had sent him "blasting off Team Rocket style", as Takato had put it. They had hoped that he had survived since Digimon were clearly far more durable than humans were, but even if he were dead, he wouldn't have even left a body behind for them to find since Digimon broke down into data upon death. And if that was the case, then they were lost in this strange world without any hope of getting back home.

"TK?"

He turned to find Kari awake. It was her shift now, and he was supposed to have woken her up 20 minutes ago, but he had decided to let her sleep a little longer.

"Hey," he greeted. "Sleep ok?"

She sat down on the log beside him. "As well as can be. I had hoped to wake up and find that everything had been a bad dream."

He'd been hoping for something similar. "Sorry, no such luck."

Beside him, there was a pile of apples they had collected from a tree while searching for Shoutmon. He picked one up and offered it to her, which she gratefully accepted, before biting into one himself.

"So what were you thinking about?" she asked.

He chuckled; she'd always been able to read him so well. "Just about everyone back home."

She smiled sadly. "Yeah, I guess you would be. Me too. They must be really worried about us." She took a bite of her apple. "You know no one is ever going to believe us."

That went without saying. What _would_ they tell everyone when, and if, they made it back? "We'll figure something out. We've always been a great team."

This was true as well. He'd been close friends with Kari and Tai ever since they were little, and he and her had always had a special bond. If he had to choose anyone to be with him, aside from his brother, it would be the two of them. Davis too, to some extent. They'd met and become friends with him just last year, but he was a good guy if you overlooked his obnoxious attitude and many flaws.

As for Takato and Takuya, he hadn't met them until the day they were drawn into the Digital World. Takato seemed very cheerful and friendly, but came across as rather naïve, and Takuya was brave and caring, though a little stubborn and hotheaded at times. They both seemed like nice guys though. He hadn't had much time to get to know Shoutmon, but he didn't seem like a bad guy, and he was, currently, their only hope of getting home.

"I hope Shoutmon is ok," Kari said, seeming to read his thoughts.

Not wanting to dampen her spirits her spirits, he gave her a teasing smile. "Don't worry, Tai's right. I'm sure the 'Digimon King' can take care of himself."

Kari giggled at that. "Yeah, the Digimon King. Do you think it's really true?"

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Sounds more like an ego trip to me. I wonder how long he'll keep up the act."

Kari frowned. TK's implication that he was alive brought on the fear that he wasn't. "What if he's gone? What if we can't get home?"

Instinctively, he reached over and placed his hand over hers. "Don't think that way. We'll make it; I know we will. I'll make sure you get home safely."

In response, she turned her hand over and grasped his. "You're always so hopeful, TK. Thanks."

He was glad to see her smiling again and gave her one of his own. "You know I'd do anything for you."

"TK…"

They suddenly found themselves leaning closer. TK wasn't sure who had begun to lean in first. The only thing he could think about was how beautiful she looked in the firelight. He wanted to…

 _"Bada Boom!"_

The two of them sprang apart, yelping in surprise as a dark purple imp-like Digimon jumped down in front of them. They stared down at it in surprise as it crossed its arms and looked up at them.

"Yous two is making me sick with all that mushy stuff. And what's all this nonsense about getting home. Yous fellas lost or somethin'?" Snatching an apple from the pile, he bit the entire fruit in half. "Whatta yous deaf? I asked yous a question."

TK shook his head, getting over his surprise. "Excuse me, but who are you?"

Gulping down the rest of the apple, he grabbed another one. "The name's Impmon. Now, yous gonna answer me, or am I gonna have ta throw a _Bada Boom_ in your kisser?"

"Oh," said Kari, snapping out of it, "yes, we're lost. We're actually humans that somehow came to this world."

Impmon finished his second apple and grabbed a third. "Hmm, humans, huh? Guess that's why yous guys is so funny lookin'."

Though TK wasn't one to judge others by their appearance, he didn't think the mini-devil Digimon had any right to call _them_ funny looking; the guy had a sharp-tooth smiley face on his chest.

"Hey, um, you haven't seen a Digimon called Shoutmon anywhere around here, have you?" he asked.

Impmon didn't even bother to look at him as he snatched his fourth apple. "Nah, yous guys is the only losers I've seen around here."

He was certainly very rude, and he was eating all their food!

"Um, excuse me, Mr. Impmon," said Kari, "do you think you could stop eating our food, please? We need to share them for breakfast."

Impmon finished the apple and glared at her. "What, yous think you own all the apples in the world?" He held up a finger, and a flame appeared on the tip. "You wants somethin' ta eat, then eat this! _Bada Boom!"_

He threw the small fireball at her. TK managed to pull her out of the way, but Impmon was just getting started. "There's more where that came from. _Pillars of Fire!"_

Holding up his hand, little flames appeared at the ends of all six fingers and began flying around. TK and Kari cried out as the fireballs flew around their heads, Impmon laughing all the while. The noise finally managed to stir the others, and Tai, Takato, and Takuya all woke up while Davis continued snoring.

"Hey, what's all the racket?" Takato muttered sleepily.

Impmon turned to him, creating another fireball. "You wants some too, pipsqueak? _Bada Boom!"_

He threw the fireball, but Takato, suddenly wide-awake, ducked underneath it. Smirking, Impmon glanced at the still sleeping Davis. "Hey, pal, join the party. _Bada Boom!"_

The fireball hit Davis' rear end. For a few seconds he just continued to sleep, then he awoke screaming. Quickly identifying the problem, he smothered his flaming backside by rubbing it on the ground while Impmon laughed.

"I got enough for everyone. _Infernal Funnel Fire!"_ Holding out his hand, a portal appeared by his feet. It opened up, and a much larger flame floated out.

The teens made a run for it as the large fireball flew at them, exploding against the ground where they had been. Impmon grinned as he hopped after them. "What's wrong? Yous don't like fire? Then how about some ice! _Night of Blizzards!"_

He thrust his hands outward, and everything began to freeze. Fortunately, the teens were able to outrun the attack, and the ice stopped a short distance behind them. Impmon just laughed and skated across the frozen ground before hopping after them, throwing _Bada Boom_ after _Bada Boom_.

"Why is everyone trying to kill us?" Davis asked, avoiding another fireball. "Are all Digimon bad?"

"I think this guy is just a bully!" TK replied, running along side him. "Hey, Tai, you want to do that Spirit Evolution thing?"

Tai was already ahead of him. "I'm trying, but it's not working!"

"Just do what you did before," Takuya told him.

Tai shook his head. "No, it's different this time. It's like it doesn't have any power."

"Maybe you need to recharge it, or change the batteries," Takato suggested.

He glared at him. "Just how am I supposed to do that?"

Impmon, with his long jumps, was quickly catching up. "Whatta yous yappin' about? _Machine Gun Kicks!"_

He landed on Davis' back with a series of kicks, knocking him to the ground. With a sneer, he looked at the others and raised his hand. _"Air Night of Fire!"_

Flames shot through the air and came down in their path, cutting off their escape. Impmon snickered as Davis looked up at the little creature standing on his back, glaring at him. "Hey, get off my back, you little imp!"

The mini-devil Digimon scowled down at him and pressed his foot against Davis' cheek, pushing his face into the dirt. "You talkin' ta me, wise guy? If so, yous better be showin' the proper respect."

At least he wasn't throwing fireballs at them anymore.

"Why are you doing this?" Kari asked. "We didn't do anything to you."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why am I doin' this? It's very simple, toots, because I can. And when you can do somethin', yous should do it, otherwise yous might as well not do anythin', and I hate havin' nothin' ta do, ba-boom."

Tai blinked. "I'm not sure I agree with your logic."

Impmon glared at him. "Yeah? As if I care what yous think. Here's a little goin' away present for ya. _Summon!"_

A similar portal to the one he conjured earlier appeared, only when this one opened, a gathering of fire and ice rose up out if it and accumulated in front of him.

Takato gulped nervously. "We could really use Greymon right about now."

That much was obvious. Tai had managed to figure out how to activate his Digivice, which did _not_ include banging it against a tree, but now it just wasn't working. TV static occupied the screen rather than Agumon's image, and he feared it might be broken.

"Kiss your keisters goodbye!" Impmon declared, motioning forward.

As the attack flew at the teens, movement came from behind. Leaping into the air over their heads was a small figure, rushing towards the mini-devil Digimon.

 _"Rock and Roller!"_

Impmon's eyes widened in surprise as a microphone slammed into the side of his head, knocking him off Davis' back and sending his attack off course.

"Honestly," their rescuer muttered, "you guys wouldn't even last a day without me."

"Shoutmon!" Kari cried, happy to see their missing friend. "You're alive!"

He winked at her. "Of course I'm alive, sweetheart. Did you miss me?"

"Did we ever!" Takato replied. "We've been lost without you. Literally."

An angry growl came from Impmon as he got to his feet, glaring at the dragon Digimon. "Hey, that hurt, ya punk. Take this. _Bada Boom!"_

Shoutmon easily knocked the fireball away with his microphone. "Apparently, I didn't hit you hard enough."

"Yeah, well, same to you! _Infernal Funnel Fire!"_

 _"Fiery Fastball!"_ Shoutmon countered.

The two fireballs collided with each other. Shoutmon's was stronger, and it knocked away Impmon's attack. The mini-devil Digimon cried out as the attack exploded against him, and Impmon was sent tumbling away in a series of backwards summersaults until he slammed into the trunk of a tree.

Groaning, he reached up and grabbed his pointy ears, looking at the singed ends. "That's gonna sting for days," he pouted. Looking back at Shoutmon, his pout became a scowl as he angrily jumped to his feet and began shaking his fist. "Now listen here, pipsqueak, I ain't gonna fight yous if yous gonna fight back!"

With that, he jumped into the tree and began hopping from one to the other as he made his escape.

Shoutmon _humphed_ as he converted his microphone back into data. "Ruddy coward." He smiled up at those he had officially dubbed the DigiDestined. "So, care to tell me where you've been."

TK blinked. "Wait, where've _we've_ been?"

"Yeah, I've been looking all over for you."

"Excuse me?" Takuya exclaimed. " _We're_ the one who have been looking for _you_."

"Yeah, what he said," said Davis as he got to his feet and dusted himself off. "We thought you might have been killed by Kuwagamon."

But Shoutmon just waved this off. "Please, as if I could be killed by some lousy bug. Speaking of which, what happened to him anyway?"

"Tai turned into Greymon again and saved us," TK replied.

Shoutmon just scoffed at this. "You mean to tell me that you beat Kuwagamon, but you couldn't handle that guy?"

"Hey, it's not my fault!" Tai objected. "The stupid Digivice isn't working, look."

He showed it to Shoutmon. The dragon Digimon examined it curiously, noting the static-filled screen.

"Any ideas why it's not working?" Takato asked.

"Hmm…" He tapped his chin. "I can't say for sure, but if I had to take a guess, I'd say it's out of power. Digimon do run out of energy, you know; our power isn't limitless. I'm sure it will start working again soon."

"Then what about ours?" Davis asked, holding up his to show the blank screen. "Why didn't I Spirit Evolve when I tried."

Shoutmon raised an eyebrow. "Spirit Evolve, huh? Is that what you're calling it?" He shrugged. "Well, whatever floats your boat, I suppose."

"Shoutmon!"

"How should I know why it's not working?" the dragon Digimon cried. "I didn't design the thing. Maybe the code just hasn't been activated yet. I don't know. Jeez, cut me some slack here. I told you before, if you want some real answers, you're going to have to ask Cherubimon."

"Fine, then," Tai mumbled, "we'll go see Cherubimon. Are you gonna take us there, or what?"

"Of course I am! I said I would!"

"Good, then lets go!"

"Yeah, lets go right now!" Davis added.

"Fine, we'll go right now!" Shoutmon snapped.

For a few seconds, the three of them just stared each other down, and then…

"Or we could go in the morning."

"Morning works."

"Yeah, we'll go in the morning."

The others sighed.

 **(A/N: Well, they've been reunited with Shoutmon. Now the journey can get underway. But is Impmon gone for good? As you can probably guess, I got this chapter from the episodes Impmon made his debut in Season 3. His accent was annoying to write though. And speaking of annoying, he interrupted a Takari moment. But don't worry, there'll be others. On a more important note, Tai's Digivice isn't working. Is it simply out of power, or is it broken? There's a lot more to come, so stay tuned, the adventure is just beginning.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the _DOT _ in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Impmon**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Woodmon**


	7. Chapter 7: Shadows of Home

**(A/N: Alright, the chapters are getting longer as the adventure goes on. Things may get a little confusing in this chapter, and you're sure to have a lot of questions, but I think you'll figure out most of what's going on by the end of it. if not, you'll get your answers next chapter. So, lets begin.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 7: Shadows of Home**

As it turned out, not all Digimon were hostile. Over the next two days, as they made their way towards the ocean, the group had run into others that hadn't attacked them. Some were rather nice, and most paid them no mind at all, except for being surprised at seeing humans in the Digital World.

"Many Digimon are peaceful," Shoutmon told them. "They just want to go about their everyday lives. When they do fight, it's either in self-defense or to obtain enough data to reach a level of strength in order to live peaceful lives."

"Putting it that way almost makes it sound like they're people trying to climb the corporate ladder," Tai noted, "only it's done through battle."

"I have no idea what you're talking about?" Shoutmon mumbled. "But there are some real evil Digimon too that really cause trouble. Especially…" He trailed off, seemingly lost in thought. "Never mind. Just know that the Digital World is in a real crisis right now due to some really bad Digimon. And lots of other Digimon are being recruited to their cause. Some out of fear, some because they want power, and others are simply following the masses."

"That's unsettling," Kari muttered. "Who are these bad Digimon?"

Shoutmon just shivered. "Trust me, you don't want to know."

He wouldn't say anything more on the subject, and instead diverted the conversation by asking them questions about their world. They answered as best as they could and described what the Real World and everyday life was like in great detail, often confusing the dragon Digimon.

"Humans are so weird," he said every so often.

It wasn't until later that they ran into a Digimon that resembled a giant cactus wearing boxing gloves. The Digivice, and Shoutmon, revealed it to be Togemon, a Champion level Digimon. The teens fully expected a fight when it came stomping over to them, but we're surprised when it addressed them in a kind voice.

"I would advice against going this way," the vegetation Digimon told them. "Beyond these trees, there's a canyon up ahead that's practically a maze. It'll take a few days, but you should really go around it."

Upon hearing this, the teens shared a look before Tai addressed the seemingly female Digimon. "We appreciate the suggestion, but we've already been in this world for a few days, and our parents are bound to be worried about us. We need to get home as soon as possible."

At his words, Shoutmon shifted uncomfortably. He'd been planning on telling them eventually, but didn't think he could put it off any longer. "Guys, I hate to tell you this, but it'll probably be a few months before we reach Cherubimon's palace."

His news brought looks of depression to the teens' faces, but they didn't look surprised.

"We already knew that," Takuya admitted.

"After all," said Tai, "you did say he lived thousands of miles away, and we're trying to get there on foot. We need to save as much time as possible.

Togemon just shrugged. "Well, I warned you. You're on your own from here."

Davis gave her a thumbs up. "Don't worry about it. If it's like a maze, we'll just do that keep your hand on the left side of the wall thing and we'll eventually find our way out."

The vegetation Digimon turned to leave. "Just be careful. There's a real nasty Digimon who lives in there too. Be on your guard."

"Great," Takato muttered. "Well, thanks for the warning, we'll keep it in mind."

With Togemon's warning appreciatively received, they continued onward. After a good ten more minutes of walking, they exited the forest and came across the entrance to the canyon the Vegetation Digimon had spoke of, the walls stretching up high at least a good 100 feet. Just looking at it, they could see tell it went on for several miles.

"We still going to do this?" Takuya asked.

"Of course we are," Davis replied. "And just to make sure we don't get lost, we can leave landmarks or something at every turn we take."

"I guess that'll work," TK agreed.

Kari looked hesitant. "But what about that Digimon Togemon warned us about?"

Tai placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll be ok, Kari. We have Shoutmon with us, plus my Digivice is working again. Besides, if it's really like a maze in there, we probably won't run into anyone."

She smiled at that. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

He had picked up on their scent almost as soon as they entered the canyon. The wind blowing through the rock walls carried the scent of any who entered. And with his sharp sense of smell, he had easily found them through the maze, even when they were miles away from him.

He'd been watching them for the better part of two hours now as they tried to find their way out; it was rather amusing. Though the canyon was indeed a pretty elaborate maze, it wasn't impossible to get out. He, however, knew this place inside and out, giving him an excellent advantage.

But still, he didn't know what those creatures were. One of them was a Shoutmon, he knew that. At the Rookie level, he could be easily dealt with, but if he could Digivolve, that might be a problem. The other creatures though, well, it wasn't wise to go after prey if you didn't know what it was.

Using a unique ability of his, he was able to glance into the minds of the strange creatures. Humans, were they? Rather weak creatures when compared to Digimon of the Rookie level and up, yet they made up for it with their intellect. However, that one with all the hair could somehow turn into a Greymon through the use of some strange device. That was interesting.

It didn't matter though. He was a master of deception and knew exactly what to do to catch someone off guard. These humans would be easy prey, but it would be best to separate them first. And inside this canyon, that wouldn't be a problem.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"Looks like we've got a decision to make," said Tai as he looked at the five different paths they could take. "We better choose carefully, or else we might end up walking in a circle."

"We've already been walking for ages!" Davis complained. "Are we ever going to get out of here?"

"It's only been a couple of hours, Davis," TK told him. "And the canyon does go on for several miles. Even if we weren't in here, it would still take us a while to walk that distance."

Davis openly pouted. "Yeah, but at least we'd be out in the open."

"Hush!" Shoutmon snapped. "You're being too loud. We don't want to draw any attention to ourselves. For all we know, that Digimon that Togemon told us about could be around here."

Takato tensed up. "Where?"

"Right here!" A voice from up above cried, finding the opportunity too good to pass up. _"Blast Coffin!"_

A beam of dark energy flew from his mouth. His target wasn't the teens though, but the walls of the canyon. Rocks cracked and broke apart, falling to the ground as an avalanche commenced. With deranged laughter, the unknown Digimon unleashed his attack once more, firing it at the ground around the teens, stirring up a large dust cloud.

"Run!" Shoutmon shouted, rushing off with his hands over his head protectively as the rocks continued to fall.

The teens attempted to run after him, but couldn't see through all the dust. Occasionally, they would be cut off as another attack was fired at them, seemingly in an attempt to drive them apart.

Tai, being the oldest and fastest, was able to keep up with Shoutmon. They finally made it out of the dust cloud, coughing and sputtering as they waited for the others to catch up. But as the dust settled, it soon became apparent that no one else was coming. A large pile of rocks cut them off from the others, or worse, had crushed them to death.

"Kari!" Tai shouted, rushing to the rocks. "Kari! Kari! Kari!"

"Tai, what are you doing?" Shoutmon cried as Tai attempted to push the rocks aside.

"What do you think?" he demanded. "I have to get to Kari and the others!"

Shoutmon began waving his arms in warning. "Stop! Stop! Just look at what you're doing! You're going to make that whole pile fall on top of you!"

"I don't care! She's my sister; I have to help her!" His eyes widened. "I know," he took out his Digivice, "I'll just Spirit Evolve to Greymon and blast through!"

Shoutmon growled. "Will you just stop and think for a minute! If you do that, you'll just cause another avalanche. Now listen, I'm sure we all just got separated by taking different paths. We can meet up with them if we continue on."

"Kari…" Tai whispered, dropping to his knees as tears threatened to fall. "Kari…"

He began pounding his fist on the ground. He wasn't quite weeping, but continued to emit dry sobs as he worried over his sister.

Shoutmon let him be for a while, letting him get out his grief. He too was worried for their friends, but he also had more confidence in them. Once Tai recovered, they would go find them.

At least that was the plan, but he suddenly saw something that made his jaw drop. Or, more to the point, someone. This person walked right over to Tai and stood over him, waiting patiently.

Becoming conscious that he was being watched, Tai looked up. Standing before him was a girl of his age. The shock of it made him momentarily forget his grief as he stared. He couldn't believe what he was seeing because, not only did he knew her, but because she was supposed to be in the Real World.

"S-Sora?" he stammered.

The girl's face lit up. "Tai, it really is you!" she cried joyfully, dropping to her knees and hugging him.

Tai couldn't believe it. Of all people, what was his girlfriend doing here? How was she here? How was any of this possible? "Sora, what are you doing here? How'd you get here?"

She stepped back. "I've been here for days. Back in the Real World, I suddenly got this text message asking for help. The next thing I knew, I was in this world."

Tai's eyes widened. "That's exactly what happened to us." Mentioning the others got him over his shock of seeing her here. "The others! I have to get to them! They're on the other side of these rocks!"

Sora looked up at the massive pile of rocks. "Around these? I can take you there."

Tai's head snapped towards her. "You can?"

She smiled and nodded. "You bet. Come on, follow me."

Motioning for him to follow, she turned to leave, but stopped when Tai suddenly hugged her from behind. "I really missed you."

The surprised look left her face, and she smiled. "I really missed you too. Now come on, lets find your fiends."

Tai began to follow her, but Shoutmon grabbed his shirt, holding him back. "Um, Tai, don't you think it's just a little suspicious to find another human around?"

Noticing they weren't following, Sora turned back to them. "Hey, you guys coming?"

Tai hesitated before giving the dragon Digimon a reassuring look. "It's ok, I know her. We'll be fine."

He went after her while Shoutmon remained behind for a few moments. "If you say so," he said, and hurried after them.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"Tai! Tai! Can you hear me?"

She had been calling for a while now, but there had been no response from anyone. It was very possible that one or more of their friends had been buried beneath the rockslide, but she refused to give up hope.

"Tai!" she shouted. "Davis! Takato! Takuya! Shoutmon! Anyone!"

TK placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's no good, they can't hear us. If they could, we should be able to hear them."

Kari hung her head. "This is awful. We can't be separated like this. We have to stay together."

"Don't worry, we'll find them. I'm sure that at any moment, Greymon will come blasting through that pile of rocks."

Kari pressed up against the wall and slid down. "I hope you're right."

TK gave her a reassuring smile, trying to be strong for her. "Everything will be all right." He looked down the path. "Hey, listen, I'm going to look ahead a little bit. Maybe I can find a way that doubles back. I won't go far."

She started to get up. "I'll go with you."

He shook his head. "No, one of us should stay here, just in case. I won't be gone long."

A worried look crossed her face. "Please be careful, TK. And keep an eye out for that Digimon."

TK's brow narrowed. That rotten creature had tried to kill them. "Yeah, you too. We don't know what it is yet."

"I caught a glimpse of it. It kind of looked like a dog."

"Really, a dog? All right, I'll keep my eyes open. Hey!" In an attempt to lighten the mood, he pulled out his Digivice. "Maybe if I manage to Spirit Evolve, I can get him to play dead."

Kari chuckled. "Now you're being silly."

He winked at her. "Just trying to make you smile. Really though, I'll be careful. See you later."

With great reluctance, he began following the path, constantly looking over his shoulder. He counted the turns he took so he wouldn't get lost. After the third turn, he decided to head back when he came to yet another dividing path. He immediately decided against taking either one, not wanting to lose his way and end up leaving Kari behind.

"So much for that," he muttered, turning to head back.

"So much for what?" came a familiar voice from one of the paths.

TK froze. He recognized that voice, it was one he could never forget. But how was it possible? It just couldn't be. He must be hearing things.

"You look like you're a bit lost, bro."

Now _that_ he didn't imagine. Turning around, he saw his older brother, Yamato, walking towards him from down the left path, smiling at him.

Unable to believe his eyes, TK took a hesitant step towards him. "M-Matt? Is… Is that really you?"

The older brother just smirked. "Well, it sure isn't Ogremon."

"Matt!" TK cried, rushing towards him and enveloping him in a hug. "You're here! You're really here! But how?"

Chuckling, Matt returned the embrace. "Did you think I wouldn't come looking for you when you didn't come home? I searched for you at the school and ended up getting sucked into the computer."

"This is great!" TK exclaimed. "Well, not that you're stuck in this world too, I meant…"

Matt broke the hug. "I know what you mean, little bro. It's good to see you too. Now come on, lets get out of here. Is anyone else with you?"

TK's eyes widened. "Yes, Kari's with me. Hurry, lets get her."

He practically dragged his brother back the way they came. When he reached Kari, he found her hesitantly testing the support of the large pile of rocks to see if they could be climbed.

"Hey, Kari, look who I found!"

She turned to him, looking hopeful, and that hope quickly gave way to shock. "Matt? What are you doing here?"

He just smiled at her. "Nice to see you, too, Kari."

Her hand covered her mouth. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I was just surprised that-"

"It's cool," he interrupted. "I'd be just as surprised if I were you. Come on, I'll show you the way out. We can exchange stories along the way.

"Wait, you know the way out?" TK asked.

He winked and gave a thumbs up. "Yup, and I'm sure we'll find the others along the way." His smile widened. "Trust me."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

When it became obvious that the others wouldn't be able to get to him, Takuya had begun walking down the path. At the rate things were going, their best chance of meeting up would be to meet outside the canyon. With any luck, he could make it to the outside first and leave a message by the exit.

Of course, there was bound to be more than one exit, so he would have to walk along the outside and leave the same message multiple times.

"If I ever get out of here that is," he muttered darkly. For all he knew, the path he had ended up taking didn't even have an exit.

He also considered the complexity of the maze. How long could they be lost in here? They'd each filled up their water bottles before entering, which meant that they only had three days after they ran out before they died of thirst.

' _Not sure how that works for Digimon though,'_ he wondered as he thought of Shoutmon.

As he walked further down the path, he heard what sounded like weeping. He could tell that it was female, and, thinking it was Kari, hurried down the path. As he ran, he realized it could also be a female Digimon, but at this rate, he'd settle for anyone.

He found the person curled up in a fetal position in the shadows of the rock wall. Unable to make out who they were, he cautiously approached. "Hey, are you all right?"

The person turned to him, and leapt out of the shadows. He caught a glimpse of blonde hair before they were hugging him tightly. "Takuya!"

He took a step back as the girl clung to him. "Whoa, what?"

"I found you!" she cried. "I found you!"

' _No, it couldn't be.'_ He carefully pulled her off him and stared into her pretty face. "It is! Zoe!"

Her face scrunched up in a mixture of joy, anger, and sadness. "You idiot! I went looking for you at your school when you never showed up for our date and ended up here!"

Their date? That's right, they'd had a date that day. He was planning to meet her after school so they could go out. After getting that text message, he'd hoped to check it out real fast before meeting with her.

' _She must have gotten sucked into the computer when she came looking for me. Was anyone else sucked in as well?'_

He pulled her to him, holding her close. "I'm so sorry. A lot of stuff happened."

"Yeah, no kidding. I just want to get out of this place, but I hurt my ankle."

"You did?" He quickly dropped down and examined her foot, indeed finding it to be red and swollen, obviously sprained. A feeling of guilt assaulted him as he realized that he was the reason why she was in this mess. If he hadn't answered that stupid text message, if he'd just met up with her right away, he never would have come to this world, and she never would have come looking for him and been brought here either. Cause and affect could be a horrible thing.

Turning around, he motioned for her to get on his back. "Here, climb on. I'll carry you."

Zoe hesitated before climbing on. "You sure I'm not too heavy?"

He stood up, holding onto her legs around him for support. "Are you kidding? You're as light as a the wind."

She smiled, wrapping her arms around him, both as a means to hold on, and to simply hug him. "Thank you."

"No problem. Now lets find the way out of here. Hopefully we'll find the others along the way."

Zoe blinked. "Others?"

"Yeah, along with you and I, there's five more of us that were brought here, but we got separated."

Her face lit up. "Maybe they're the voices I heard. That's how I hurt my ankle. I got excited and ran towards the voices, but lost my footing and tripped." She pointed down the path. "They were that way!"

Grinning, Takuya adjusted her on his back. "All right, lets go!"

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

The first rule of survival was to remain where you were. That way people would know where to look for you when you got lost. And this was why Takato was currently sitting down in the shade of the rock wall. When his friends came looking for him, they would search where they last saw him.

"Well, that's the theory anyway," he muttered.

It did occur to him that if they all followed that rule, then no one would find anyone, but he figured that Shoutmon, being a resident of this world, would be the one to find his own way out and get a flying Digimon to rescue them, or something like that.

Speaking of Digimon, they really should have taken Togemon's warning more seriously. But to run into a single Digimon in this entire maze-like canyon had seemed highly unlikely, so they had risked it.

"Yeah, big mistake," he told himself.

Well, there was nothing to be done about it now. Momentai, as his friend Henry would say since nothing would come from worrying, so he should just take it easy. Rika, however, would tell him to stop being a goggle-headed idiot and to get up and do something. Kazu and Kenta… well, they would just freak out. Ryou, he would have already come up with some kind of plan, the guy was the type to embrace his destiny. And Jeri…

"Oh, Jeri…" he whispered.

Along with his parents, he missed her most of all. He wondered when he would see her again. Would she believe him if he told her about this crazy adventure? Truthfully, she just might, and the thought brought a smile to his face.

"You always were rather gullible."

"Ruff!"

He jumped at the unexpected voice behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he saw a familiar dog puppet at the end of a hand.

"Bad, Takato! Bad!" the puppet said. "Jeri is not gullible."

He stumbled away from both the puppet and the puppeteer. "I didn't mean anything bad by it, Jeri! I think it's really great that you're so trusting! I just meant… Wha…?"

It suddenly registered to him who he was talking to, and he stared dumbfounded into the object of his affections' smiling face.

"J-Jeri? But you… How are you…? When did you…?"

She chuckled. "You're so silly, Takato." Holding up her puppet, she spoke in its voice once more. "Takato is very funny. He always makes Jeri laugh."

His finger slowly came up, pointing at her as he tried to find his voice. "But you… you're here. How are you here?"

"Ruff! Silly, Takato! Jeri is here because she's here." She resumed speaking in her own voice as she addressed the puppet as if it were alive. "That's right, we're all here."

"No, I mean how are you here in the Digital World?"

She blinked, looking genuinely confused. "Hmm? The Digital World? But this is just a dream, right? I mean, it has to be." She held up her puppet again. "Ruff! Of course it's a dream. Things like getting sucked into a computer can only happen in a dream."

' _Oooook…'_ So she thought she was dreaming all this. He supposed that made sense. But how exactly was he going to break this to her? "Um, Jeri, I don't think you understand what's going on."

"Ruff, ruff! That's ok. Jeri is always happiest whenever she is with you, Takato."

He blushed. Maybe he shouldn't ruin her good mood. It might be better to tell her the truth once they met up with others. Hopefully, she wouldn't freak out if there were others around once she realized this wasn't a dream.

"I'm happy when I'm with you too, Jeri. So why don't we hang out until the others get here."

"Oh, I saw them," she said in her normal voice. "The captain if the school's soccer team and that other kid on the team that looks like him was there too."

Takato did a double take. "Wait, you saw Tai and Davis? Who else?"

She tapped her chin. "Hmm, lets see. There was also that girl who I'm pretty sure is the captain's sister. Then there was a blonde boy wearing a hat, and another boy wearing goggles, though they were different from yours. I didn't know either of them though. Oh, and they had this cute little red dinosaur with them."

Takato sweat-dropped. H wouldn't exactly call Shoutmon cute, more along the lines of cool. But then again, Jeri also thought Charmeleon, his favorite Pokémon, was cute too.

He shook his head; that wasn't important right now. It sounded like his friends were all together, now he just had to get to them. "Jeri, where did you see them?" he asked, grasping her shoulders. "Can you take me to them?"

She blinked. "Um, sure, they're down this way."

Takato followed as she led him through the canyon. They walked for about ten minutes before coming to an open area where several paths connected.

"They're in there," she told him.

"Really? Great, lets go!"

He hurried ahead, expecting Jeri to follow him. She did, at a much slower pace, an eerie smile creeping up her face. When he reached the middle of the opening, he skidded to a halt.

"W-What…? What is this?" He turned back to her. "Jeri, what's going…?"

He trailed off, the color draining from his face. Jeri had changed. She stilled looked like her, but her smile now extended ear to ear, with small pointy fangs poking out of her lips. Most disturbing of all, she had no eyes!

Lifting her puppet, she revealed that her eyes now seemed to be on it in place of its own button eyes, and the inside of its mouth was also aligned with fangs.

"What's wrong, Takato?" both Jeri and the puppet asked in distorted voices. "Aren't you happy to see everyone?"

Takato's cry echoed throughout the canyon.

 **(A/N: Something is very wrong here, but I'm sure you realized that when all these other people started showing up. Clearly these aren't the people they know from the Real World. I admit that I kind of used this chapter as a way to show the couples I ship. They're pretty much all the official ones, except for Tai/Sora, but I like them better than Matt/Sora. I know you still have questions, but you'll have to wait until next time to get your answers. And even though that ending was like the dream Jeri had when she was held captive by the D-Reaper, this has nothing to down with the D-Reaper. By the way, does anyone have any guesses of who the Digimon is that attacked them? No looking it up though, that's cheating!)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the _DOT _ in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Togemon**


	8. Chapter 8: Davis Cries Wolf

**(A/N: For some reason, my computer hasn't been letting me upload new chapters, or even edit ones that I already have uploaded. Not sure why, but it's an issue that's been going on for over a week now. Has anyone else had this problem? I already contacted _SupportFanfiction_ , so hopefully the issue will be resolved. Just know that if I don't update, that's the reason for my delay. For now, I was able to use a different computer to get this chapter up. Hopefully the issue will be resolved soon.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 8: Davis Cries Wolf**

"This is bogus!" Davis complained as he tried climbing up the unsteady massive pile of rocks. "How am I supposed to get over this pile of- wah!"

He cried out as his weight caused the rocks to shift, nearly causing a rockslide. He held still as the rocks settled once more, breathing a sigh of relief. The last thing he needed was to have everything falling on top of him.

"Can't believe I got cut off from everyone like this. Why couldn't I have at least ended up with Kari? With my luck, she's probably cozying up with TP right now. That's no fair getting a head start like that!"

He stepped on a loose rock and it collapsed under him. There was a small shift in the pile beneath him, but he was up high enough not to be caught up in it.

"Phew, that was close." He looked up at how much farther he had to go. "Man, this is ridiculous! Why do I have to climb this thing? When I become a Digimon, I better be something with wings." He considered this as he continued climbing. "I wonder what I'll be. DinoSoccerPlayermon. Yeah, that sounds cool. I'll be the most awesome Digimon ever! AHHH!"

Another rockslide happened, and this one he did get caught up in. He tumbled all the way down the pile. Landing painfully on his chin and knees in a fetal position as rocks tumbled down around him, one rather large one landing on his head.

"Boy, good thing my head is so hard," he grumbled as he blinked back tears.

A foot came down in his line of vision as an older girl's voice asked, "What are you doing?"

Still dazed, he looked up to see another human standing over him. "Oh, hey, Jun."

The girl sighed. "Honestly, you're such a klutz, it's a wonder you're still in one piece."

"Says you. Why don't you just run off to your room and…" He suddenly realized who he was talking to and sprang to his feet. "AH! Jun, what are you doing here?"

Placing her hands on her hips, she glared at him. "Rescuing my ungrateful brat of a brother, of course. Do you know how worried Mom and Dad have been? Honestly, quit being so selfish all the time."

He stared at her, completely dumbfounded. "Hey, wait, you mean you came to look for me?"

"Of course I did! You may be a pain, but you're still my little brother. And I hope you appreciate it. I'm not fit for the wilderness. Do you know what a killer this place is going to be for my skin? What if I get a pimple? I can't go to Matt's concert with a zit! Then some other fan-girl will grab him, and I'll end up as a spinster!"

Davis sweat-dropped. "Please tell me you're not the only one here."

She blinked, pulling herself together. "Of course not. There's a whole rescue party here. We already found your friends. Now come on, lets head to the randevu point so we can get out of here."

Davis' face lit up. "Everyone's ok? That's awesome. I was afraid some of us might have gotten buried under the avalanche."

Without waiting for her, he took off down the path since it was the only way to go. He heard his sister running after him, but he wanted to make sure all his friends were ok. There was only one way to go, just one path his sister could have come from, so he followed it.

The open area was up ahead; he could see it now. He also saw several other passageways leading to it. The others must have found their way to this spot down whatever paths they had taken during the avalanche.

Speaking of which, now that he thought about it, whatever happened to the Digimon that caused it? Had it gotten crushed beneath its own avalanche? Did it get cut off from them as well? Or did it simply run off after causing some trouble for them?

' _Whoever he was, he better make sure I never get my hands on him.'_

Entering the clearing, he spotted the others sitting in a circle. His face lit up and he ran over to them, waving. "Hey, you're all right! That's great! Now we can all go home!"

He reached them, but none of them replied. They wouldn't even look at him, and instead simply stared at their laps.

"Hey, what's up with you guys?" he asked. "Are you upset because I was the last to arrive? Give me a break, the rescue party only just found me."

Still no answer, and it seemed to escape his notice that there was no one else of this supposed rescue party present. Davis' face scrunched up in irritation, and he bent down to their level. "Come on, we're finally going home. We should be celebrating. Hey."

He reached out and shook Tai's shoulder. The older boy's head fell back, revealing him to be unconscious. In fact, they all seemed to be completely out cold, having been propped up against each other to make it look like they were sitting up.

For a moment, Davis panicked as he quickly checked their pulses. Panic gave way to horror when he felt none, only to realize that he wouldn't feel anything with his gloves on.

From behind him, he heard his sister walk up, but something was wrong. He now sensed a sinister aura that wasn't there before.

"They were so easy to fool," she said. "All so hopeful for a chance to return home, so happy to see a loved one again that they didn't even think twice about trusting them. They never suspected that they were being deceived until it was too late."

Davis turned to face her. "You're not Jun. Who are you?" He'd already figured out that she wasn't his sister, and her now altered appearance supported this. Her hair was more wild and spiky, her eyes were narrowed slits pulled back in an evil stare, and she wore a sadistic grin filled with sharp fangs.

Her smile widened as she snickered evilly. "Your minds were all open books." A spiral of wind swirled around her, obscuring her from Davis's vision. When it ceased, Jun was gone, and Sora was in her place. "I simply showed each of you what you wanted to see, and you all followed me like a flock of Sheepmon." She changed again, becoming Jeri. "Taking the forms of loved ones works especially well, so I became those they held deep affection for." She changed again, becoming Matt. "Your desire to be with those you care for make you such easy prey." Another change, and Zoe stood in his place. "This just goes to show you that love, no matter what kind, makes you weak."

Davis' fists clenched. How dare this… this… _thing_ deceive them like this. Not only had it taken advantage of their longings for their loved ones, it toyed with their hopes and feelings; it was unforgivable.

A groan came from behind him, and he turned to see Shoutmon crawling towards him, having regained consciousness, but still dazed and weary.

"Davis…" he grumbled, "be careful. This is an evil Digimon of legend. It preys on those that lose their way and takes on the forms of those they care for in order to get close to them. Don't trust anything it says."

The fake Zoe grinned. "What's wrong, Shoutmon? Are you feeling left out? Do you want to see someone you care for too?" She changed again, becoming a small purple Digimon. "How about your little buddy?"

Shoutmon growled. "You leave Gumdramon out of this!"

An evil chuckle escaped the false Gumdramon. "Why? Does it bring back memories of how you failed to protect him?" His persona changed, presumably to that of the Digimon he was imitating. "You were like a brother to me. I really looked up to you, but you weren't there when I needed you. Why, Shoutmon? Why?"

As Shoutmon covered his ears, Davis turned angrily towards the impersonator. "That's it, pal! Enough of your games! Show us who you really are!"

The imposter grinned. "Well, if you insist."

The spiral of wind spun around him once more, only this time when it dispersed, his true form was revealed. A large wolf Digimon with red fur, a long snout with razor sharp protruding fangs, and long purple claws now towered over Davis, staring at him hungrily. It was slender and skeletal thin, but not from starvation, and it stood tall and proud.

Davis was suddenly regretting having demanded to see the Digimon's true form. With shaky hands, he took out his Digivice and got a reading on it. "Fangmon, a Champion level demon beast type Digimon derived from the big bad wolf in fairytales that acts as an evil counterpart to Garurumon. He has the ability to take the forms of others, and his special attack is _Blast Coffin_. What? _Blast Coffin?_ That's the attack that caused the avalanche!"

The wolf Digimon grinned, showing off the deadly fangs it was named after. "What's the problem, little human? I thought you wanted me to reveal my true form."

Davis gulped. "Well, yeah, but I didn't think you'd so big that you'd be able to bite me in half."

"Then allow me to alleviate your fears. _Snipe Steal!"_

He swiped at Davis with his claws. With what little strength he had left, Shoutmon lunged at Davis, knocking him out of the way. "Don't just stand there! Run!"

"Stay out of this," Fangmon growled. _"Blast Coffin!"_

He fired a beam of dark energy from his mouth. Davis quickly wrapped an arm around Shoutmon and rolled them out of the way, but the blast from the attack still knocked them away from each other.

Fangmon chuckled. "I will be eating well tonight. There is nothing better than fresh meat, and you humans will make a most exotic feast."

Shoutmon struggled to get to his feet. "As if I'd let that happen."

The wolf Digimon scowled and stalked over to him. Lifting his claw, he brought it down on the dragon Digimon, pressing him into the ground. "You can be the first to die. The so-called Digimon King will make a splendid meal."

"Choke on me!"

Fangmon grinned and opened his mouth. A rock suddenly hit his face, and he snarled at the distraction. Another one struck him, and he turned to Davis, scowling.

Scooping up another rock, Davis chucked it at him. "Picking on such a little guy, are you? Who'd have thought that the literal big bad wolf was such a coward?"

Gangmon growled and headed for him. "A coward, you say. That's rich coming from a child too afraid to be out in the Digital World on his own without his friends. _Snipe Steal!"_

Using his quick reflexes, Davis dodged the attack. "You've got it all wrong, pal. I wasn't desperate to get back to the others because I was afraid. I wanted to get back to them because they're my friends. I was worried and wanted to make sure they were safe. We're a team, and we look out for each other." He glanced at his unconscious friends. "I'd never abandoned them."

Fangmon bared his fangs. "How sweet. You're sure to give me indigestion." He leapt over Davis' head, then turned around to face him at a different angle. From this position, Davis now stood directly between Fangmon and the unconscious forms of his friends. "Lets see how loyal to them you really are. _Blast Coffin!"_

Davis suddenly realized that he was standing in the path of the attack. If he moved, it would take out his friends. There was simply no way around it.

"I'm not going anywhere!" he shouted. "I'll never abandon my friends!"

A chiming sound came from the Digivice in his hand. Light erupted from it, surrounding him, and Fangmon's attack dispersed upon coming in contact with it.

"What?" Fangmon snarled. "But how did you…?"

Davis looked at his Digivice. "Is this…?" The image of Veemon on his screen was swapped out for a different Digimon, and a familiar message came up as a button on the device began blinking.

Davis beamed. "All right! It's about time!" he cried, pressing the button. _"Execute! Spirit Evolution… ExVeemon!"_

The process had been the same as it had been with Tai. Fractal Code had flowed out of the Digivice to form an egg-shaped cocoon of data around him that grew and burst open to reveal a large blue dragon Digimon with an X shape on his chest and a set of wings.

Fangmon's already slit eyes narrowed even more. "What is going on?"

The dragon Digimon seemed startled at first, then began to examine his clawed hands. "Hey, did I just…?" He glanced over his shoulder. "Sweet, I got wings!" He flapped them, taking to the air. "And I know how to use them! Awesome!"

Down on the ground, with his face still buried in the dirt, Shoutmon gave him a thumbs up. "Nice job…"

Fangmon growled. "Don't get cocky. You may be a Digimon now, but you're still no match for me. _Blast Coffin!"_

The attack came up at him, but Davis, or ExVeemon as he now was, felt no need to avoid it. Instead, he felt a power growing in his chest. Tai had told them that Greymon's attacks had instinctually come to him. Now he knew what the older boy meant. He could feel the attack building up within him. It was called…

" _Vee-Laser!"_

Contradicting the attack's name, an X shaped ray of energy shot out of the mark on his chest. It collided with Fangmon's _Blast Coffin_ , resulting in an explosion. ExVeemon strained his eyes to see through the cloud of smoke, yet couldn't make out any movement.

Fangmon came leaping out of it, having used the smoke as cover to make a surprise attack. He tackled ExVeemon out of the air, and they both went crashing to the ground, Fangmon on top of the dragon Digimon.

"Get off me!" ExVeemon growled, punching the wolf Digimon in the jaw.

Fangmon snarled and used his _Snipe Steal_ attack, scratching ExVeemon across the chest. He grunted and fired another _Vee-Laser_ , blasting the wolf Digimon back and taking to the air again.

"All right, Fangmon, prepare for some 'goodness gracious, great balls of fire' coming at you. _Hearty Shatter!"_

A shower of fireballs flew out of his mouth and rained down upon Fangmon. The wolf Digimon growled as he was bombarded by the fiery spheres. With an angry snarl, he fired his _Blast Coffin_ , but, up in the air, ExVeemon easily avoided it.

"Ha, your aim is terrible!" he taunted.

Fangmon's fur stood on end in his anger. "The perhaps I should move on to some easier prey."

He took off at a run, heading for the unconscious teens. Shoutmon had gone over to them and was trying to rouse them, already having drawn a groan from Tai, hoping he would be able to help in the battle. Hearing the wolf Digimon approaching, he ceased trying to wake them and produced his mic, turning to face Fangmon.

"No!" ExVeemon cried, and swooped down.

Fangmon rushed towards Shoutmon, dark energy building up in his mouth. The little dragon Digimon gripped his mic, preparing for the attack just as ExVeemon collided with the wolf Digimon. He grabbed him, carrying him along, and slammed him into the canyon wall, cracking it.

" _Critical Crunch!"_

Fangmon howled like an actual wolf as ExVeemon's jaws chomped down on his torso. He lashed out with his claws, slicing three deep gashes into the dragon Digimon's side. ExVeemon released him and flew up in the sky. Fangmon glared up at him and began wildly and repeatedly firing his _Blast Coffin_ at him.

As he dodged the beams of dark energy, ExVeemon's eyes shifted to the rock wall he'd slammed Fangmon against. Noting the large crack up its side, an idea formed in his mind.

' _Well, turnabout is fair play,'_ he thought. _"Vee-Laser!"_

The X shaped laser flew from his chest and blasted against the wall. Rocks came tumbling down towards the wolf Digimon, who realized too late what ExVeemon had done. He snarled viciously as the rocks fell on him, burying him alive and crushing him under their weight.

"Good riddance," ExVeemon grumbled. "That was one nasty fellow." With the threat neutralized, he went and flew down by his friends. "How are they?"

Shoutmon glanced at him. "Still out cold. Oh, nice job beating Fangmon. That guy was bad news." He looked back at the unconscious teens. "Now if only we could wake these guys…" He snapped his fingers. "Hey, I got it."

Grabbing his mic, he held it right up to the teens' faces. As he took a deep breath, ExVeemon realized what he was about to do and quickly stuck his fingers in his ears.

"WAAAAAKE UUUUUP!" Shoutmon screamed into his mic.

It was rather comical, watching as the five of them got startled out of unconsciousness. TK and Takato ended up bonking heads, Kari ended up crawling over Tai, and Takuya attempted to jump to his feet, only to topple over onto all four of them.

Smirking, Shoutmon "put away" his mic reverting it back into data and pulling it into his body once more. "Glad to have you back."

Tai twisted his index finer in his ear, trying to dispel the ringing. "What was that for?" He blinked as he realized that things were different from before he lost consciousness. "Wait a minute, what happened?" It was then that he noticed ExVeemon. "Ah! And who's that?"

ExVeemon grinned. "What, you don't recognize me?" He made a muscle, showing off his biceps. "I guess I did go through some pretty big changes."

Behind him, the pile of rocks burst open, and a snarling Fangmon came crawling out, shaking the dust and stones off. Fixing his hate-filled eyes on ExVeemon, he opened his mouth to fire his _Blast Coffin_.

ExVeemon whirled around to face him. _"Vee-Laser!"_

The two attacks came at each other. ExVeemon's blast right through Fangmon's energy beam, striking the wolf Digimon. A loud, "Arooooooh!" escaped him, and his body burst into data, the evil Digimon finally defeated.

"Mine!" Shoutmon declared, running up and jumping into the lingering data, absorbing it. "I'll put this to good use."

"Stingy," ExVeemon joked with a grin.

"Um, hello!" Takuya cried. "Can someone please tell me what's going on?"

Recalling what Shoutmon had told Tai about returning to normal, ExVeemon concentrated on changing back to his human form. When he opened his eyes, he was human once more.

"Davis?" Kari exclaimed. "That was you?"

He gave her a thumbs up. "That's right. I was pretty awesome as ExVeemon, wasn't I?"

"ExVeemon?" Tai repeated. "Is that the name of your Digimon form?" He smiled. "Very cool."

Davis smirked. "I know, right! I totally kicked Fangmon's hairy butt."

"Who's Fangmon?" Takato asked. "That wolf Digimon? And what happened to Jeri? Or that thing that was pretending to be Jeri."

"Who's Jeri?" TK asked.

A deep blush filled Takato's face. "Huh? Well… uh… she's my… she's my, um… my girlfriend," he confessed, tapping his index fingers together.

Takuya's eyebrows rose. "You saw your girlfriend? So did I."

"And I saw Sora," Tai replied

Shoutmon nodded. "Yeah, I was with Tai, so I saw her too. That's what Fangmon does. He lures you in by taking on the forms of loved ones."

"So that's why I saw my brother," TK added.

Kari tapped her chin. "I saw Matt too, but I was with TK at the time, so I guess that made sense since Fangmon can only take on the form of one person at a time."

Davis looked at each of them. "Wait, so Kari and Shoutmon didn't see anyone because they weren't with the ones Fangmon was trying to deceive. Tai, Takato, and Takuya all saw their girlfriends, but TK only saw his brother?" He burst out laughing. "Wow, too bad for you, TQ! Not much luck with the ladies?"

TK cut his eyes at him. "And just who did you see?"

Davis abruptly stopped laughing, his mouth still hanging open as he sweat-dropped, remembering how he had seen his sister. "T-That's not important. We should focus on getting out of here. I'm pretty sure I got a good view of the way out from the sky. Come on, let's go."

He began walking away, but the others' curiosity had been sparked.

"Hey, wait, who'd you see?" TK asked again.

"It's not important."

"No really, I want to know."

"Yeah, I'm pretty curious myself," said Takato.

"Me too," Takuya added.

Tai glanced at Shoutmon. "Hey, you saw who it was, right?"

Shoutmon just shrugged. "I don't know. All you humans pretty much look the same to me."

"Let it go already!" Davis shouted over his shoulder.

"Come on, Davis," Kari called after him, "we wanna know. Tell us."

"I said leave it alone!"

 **(A/N: Boy, Davis really put his foot in his mouth at the end there. But, hey, at least he can Spirit Evolve now. You probably saw that coming though. Any guesses as to who it will be next? And will they be able to escape from the maze-like valley? At least they won't need to worry about Fangmon anymore. I selected him as an enemy to give the characters a reminder of what was back in the Real World, and to provide some insight in their lives there as well. Hadn't realized he was a commonly used villain in fics. I'll have to read more. We've still got a lot more to go, so stay tuned.)**

 **ExVeemon's attacks:**

 **Vee-Laser ****– _Fires a_** _ **X shaped laser from chest.**_

 **Critical Crunch ****– _B_** _ **ites.**_

 **Hearty Shatter ****–** _ **Spits a series of fireballs.**_

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the _DOT_ in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Gumdramon**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Fangmon**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/ExVeemon**


	9. Chapter 9: Machine Tower

**(A/N: Ok, this inability to upload documents is really getting annoying. It works fine when I do it on this computer. I don't know what's up. I guess I'll just have to keep using this one until things get working again. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Enjoy.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 9: Machine Tower**

A cruel smile crept up his face as he surveyed the land. This was his domain, and the time had finally come to claim it. Of all the areas in the Digital World, this island was, perhaps, one of the most important due to one specific location. It was for this reason he was here to claim it. And now that his master plan was ready to unfold, he could begin his takeover of the island.

Of course, there would be many who opposed him, but he had a way around that. He would use his secret weapon. Soon enough, everyone on this island would bow down to him and submit to his will.

"Such pitiful fools," he remarked.

Holding out his hand, he called for his secret weapon. From out of the darkness, a black circular object floated into his hand. Though harmless on its own, he'd discovered all its secrets and learned how to use it as an instrument of evil to force others to submit to him and his dark power.

But he had to be cautious. This was still untested, something he planned to rectify right now. He already had a targeted destination in mind, and with a flick of his hand, he sent the dark object out into the night. This was when the fun began.

"Go now, my black gear," he called after it, "show these insignificant fools the true power of the darkness.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"Whoa, now that's a tower," Davis remarked.

"It's got to be at least five times as tall as the Empire State Building," TK noted.

"I don't know about any state building," Shoutmon replied, "but what you're looking at it known as Machine Tower. It's a very technologically advanced place, even for the Digital World."

They had first spotted the enormous structure while still in the canyon. It had served as a beckon to help guide them out of the maze-like valley, using the tall structure as a reference to where they were. And once they finally made it out, they had continued onwards towards the tower.

"Many machine-type Digimon occupy it and work there," Shoutmon told them. "They hardly ever come out, and they're always adding to the top, making it taller and taller." He smirked. "Kind of makes you wonder how high they can make it before it finally falls over."

Davis chuckled. "Isn't there a game like that in the Real World?"

"How should I know?"

As they got closer, the ground transitioned from rock to metal flooring. It was around this time that Tai whipped out his handheld miniature telescope to get a closer look at the tower. "Hey, Shoutmon, you said that the machine Digimon hardly ever come out of the tower, right?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Well, from the looks of it, there are quite a few of them hanging around the base, and it doesn't look like they're making repairs."

The dragon Digimon's face scrunched up. "That's weird. Something must be wrong. We better check it out."

Davis looked confused. "Weren't we already going over there anyway?"

"Oh, brother," the others muttered.

Increasing their pace, they finally reached the base of the tower. They saw that Tai was right, there was indeed a large number of mechanical looking Digimon sitting around outside, and they all looked depressed.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Shoutmon demanded. "Why are the workers of the famous Machine Tower just sitting around?"

One of the Digimon, Guardromon according to the Digimon Analyzer built in their Digivices, spoke on behalf of the others. "We're not out here by choice. We were driven out."

"Driven out?" TK repeated. "By who?"

"One of our co-workers suddenly went bonkers," said a Digimon known as Kokuwamon. "We detected a collision in one section of the tower. He went to see what it was, and when he came back, he'd changed."

"Changed, changed," several of the machine Digimon chanted.

Shoutmon sighed. "Great. Well, as king, I suppose I should look into this. Whose in charge here?"

"That would be me." A non-machine-type Digimon stepped forward. His body seemed to be made of green wireframe, as if he were a 3-D model on the computer that had yet to be given its surface texture layer. "I'm the manager of Machine Tower, and I'm afraid it's true. One of our workers chased us out of the tower."

Kari checked who he was on her Digimon Analyzer. "Rockmon, Champion level, special attack _Guardian Bomb._ He's a rare wireframe version of Frigimon and Golemon, whoever they are."

"Rockmon, huh?" Takato repeated. "Doesn't look like much of a rock to me."

Takuya covered his friend's mouth, hoping the wireframe Digimon didn't take offense; there was just no telling with these creatures. "Um, sir, could you tell us about this Digimon that drove you out?"

Rockmon sighed. "His name is DarkVolumon. He uses sound waves to attack, making it very difficult to even approach him, let alone fight him."

Shoutmon's eyes narrowed. "I've heard of him. He's only a Champion, but he's a very powerful one, and completely ruthless."

Davis didn't look concerned. "Come on, how bad can someone named DarkVolumemon be?"

"It's DarkVolumon," a different Kokuwamon told him, "and to answer your question, he's very bad."

Rockmon nodded. "He's even captured our top technician, Datamon, and he's an Ultimate."

TK raised his hand. "Um, not to be critical, but why would you employ someone that bad and that powerful in the first place?"

"He wasn't always like that," Rockmon replied, his faceless head making it impossible to show what he was feeling. "He suddenly changed into his dark form, and we don't know why."

Tai looked at the others. "Well, I guess we should take a look at what's going on inside."

"Huh?" Takato exclaimed. "But what can we do?"

Tai just smiled. "Hey, don't worry, I'm sure Davis, Shoutmon, and I can handle just one guy."

The dragon Digimon gave him a look. "Shoutmon who?"

"Well, you did say that as king you should look into this, didn't you? If you're really the Digimon King, taking care of this should be one of your kingly duties."

Rockmon pressed his fingerless hands together. "Oh, thank you, kind sirs. We are truly in your debt. I shall accompany you and act as your guide."

"Sounds good to me," Davis agreed.

Tai looked at the others. "You guys should stay here. There's no point in putting yourselves in danger."

Takuya immediately became defensive. "No way, I want to help too."

"It could be dangerous," Tai argued.

"No offense," TK told him, "but this whole world is dangerous."

"He's right," Kari replied. "We should stick together.'

"Plus," Takato told him, "we could always end up getting attacked while out here."

Tai glanced at all the machine Digimon. From the looks of them, he didn't think any of them would attack his friends. But then again, if someone like Ogremon, Kuwagamon, or Fangmon showed up, he didn't think any of them would risk their lives to help his sister and friends.

With a sigh, he relented. "Alright, but stay close."

"Sure thing," Takuya agreed. "And who knows, maybe with all this technology, we'll be able to find a way to get us home."

That certainly made their spirits rise as they made their way inside with Rockmon leading them. Though the humans didn't seem all that worried, the two Digimon were noticeably anxious.

"Hey, guys, don't worry," Tai told them. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

Shoutmon glared at him. "That's easy for you to say; you don't know what we're getting ourselves into. DarkVolumon is seriously bad news. He may be a Champion, but he's on par with an Ultimate, and with the way he uses sound waves, he can even make a low powered Mega hesitate."

"Hey," said Davis, "since we're on the topic of different Digimon, did you get a look at the ones that looked like gears, Hagurumon and Solarmon?"

"Yeah, what about them?" Takato asked.

"They look exactly alike! They're just a different color."

Kari gave him a look of disapproval. "Davis, that rude."

"I'm just saying, one of them seems like a cheap rip-off of the other. It's like what those lazy developers do in video games where they just render an enemy a different color and pretend they're someone new."

The others stopped and stared at him, the humans with blank looks, Shoutmon with scorn, and Rockmon with no face to display his emotions.

Davis hesitated under their stares. "Just an observations."

Shoutmon scoffed. "You humans have no right to criticize us when you all look alike to us." He glanced back and forth between Tai and Davis before glaring at the latter. "Especially _you_."

Before an argument could escalate, the entire tower trembled as a sonic boom echoed from up above. The teens and the Digimon all covered their ears as the sound rang in their ears.

"What was that?" Takuya asked.

"That," said Rockmon, "was DarkVolumon. He probably found another worker that was hiding." He shook his fist at the ceiling. "You'll pay for this, DarkVolumon!"

"Shh!" Kari shushed him. "We don't want him to know we're here."

"He may already know," Rockmon replied. "We have monitors all over the place. It wouldn't take much for him to-"

"Boss?" a small voice interrupted. "Is that you?"

Rockmon looked around. "Huh? Who's there?"

An air vent popped open, and a tiny machine Digimon poked its head out. "Boss! It really is you!"

Several others stuck their heads out of the vent, others appearing in several other nooks and crannies.

"Ahh!" Davis cried, jumping back. "This place is infested!"

Rockmon looked at him with what probably would have been a glare if he had a face. "These are MetalKoromon. They get in the small spaces that we larger Digimon can't fit."

"Hmm, convenient," said TK, nodding in understanding.

"We've been hiding from DarkVolumon while trying to keep an eye on things," a MetalKoromon reported.

"And you've done very well," Rockmon assured him. "Would you happen to know where Datamon is?"

"Of course," said another. "We can lead you there without DarkVolumon knowing."

"Follow us! Follow us!" the others chanted.

Rockmon looked back at the teens. "Well, you heard them. Lets go."

"Um," Takato muttered as he reluctantly followed, "they do realize that we can't fit into small spaces like them, right?"

As it turned out, what the MetalKoromon had in mind was an elevator that had been broken during DarkVolumon's initial attack. It didn't work, but the ladder that ran along the inside of the shaft would allow them to climb up without alerting DarkVolumon to their presence.

"Datamon is on this floor," a MetalKoromon replied as it climbed along the wall while the others used the ladder. "But the doors won't open from the inside with the elevator broken down."

"Leave that to me," Rockmon replied, raising his fist.

TK's eyes widened. "No, wait!"

 _"Anti-Digi Beam!"_

As the name of the attack suggested, a beam flew from his hand, blasting the doors open. When the smoke cleared, they were able to climb through the destroyed double-doors and onto the floor.

"Why'd you do that?" TK asked. "DarkVolumon probably heard that."

Rockmon sweat-dropped. "Yes, perhaps that wasn't the best course of action."

"It's too late now," Shoutmon replied. "Lets just do this fast."

"Maybe we should just fight this guy," Davis suggested. "It sounds like he needs a lesson in manners."

"But that's the problem," a MetalKoromon replied. "His sound waves makes us unable to approach him."

"How about we just save Datamon and get out of here without fighting anyone," Takato suggested.

"He's this way!" another MetalKoromon replied. "Down this hall."

Following the little machine Digimon, they were brought to a door that required a secret code in order to gain access inside. Kari turned to Rockmon questioningly. "Do you have the code?"

"Of course," he replied. "I run this place, remember. Stand back now; this code is top secret."

He waited for them to turn around before going to the keypad and entering the numbers _0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,_ in that order, and the door opened for them.

The inside wasn't much different from the rest of the facility. The main difference was that numerous cables hung from the ceiling and the walls.

"Datamon!" Rockmon cried, hurrying into the room.

He rushed into the room and over to the wall. There, hanging from numerous cables, was what appeared to be a bazaar mechanism of some sorts. Had its eyes not been opened, the teens would have thought it was part of the tower.

"Hey, boss," the Digimon they presumed was called Datamon grumbled. "Thought I told you to get out of here."

"I did," the wireframe Digimon replied. "Now I'm back with the rescue party."

Datamon groaned again. "Sorry about this, boss. I couldn't fight against those sound waves."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Rockmon told him as he began removing the cables from his friends' body.

Reaching up, Datamon placed a hand on his shoulder. "Forget about me, boss. You have to go now."

"Not without you."

"No, right now, he's coming."

Squeals came from the MetalKoromon in the hall, and the group of little Digimon scattered.

"DarkVolumon! It's DarkVolumon!" they wailed.

The others turned to the door as the sound of heavy footsteps was heard, slowly getting closer. A shadow soon loomed across the floor, followed shortly by a machine-type Digimon filling the doorway. It turned to face them with glowing yellow eyes, containing a machine gun on either side and a large megaphone speaker on its chest.

"Oh, great," Shoutmon muttered.

"What?" Davis asked. "He doesn't look so tough."

"That may be," Rockmon replied, "just as long as he doesn't-"

 _"Doomsday Woofer!"_ DarkVolumon cried.

At some point in everyone's life, they would hear something far too loud that it would actually hurt their ears, but nothing could have prepared them for this. The noise that emitted from the speaker on DarkVolumon's chest unleashed an ultrasound wave so powerful and so intense that they could actually see the ripples and distortion in the air. The metal walls, ceiling, and floor twisted and tore, the cables being ripped out as if by physical force.

When the sound wave flowed over them, they were knocked off their feet. No, not just knocked off their feet, but literally thrown back, as if something had actually collided into them. And it _hurt_. Not just their ears, for the sound was too much for their ears to truly pick up the volume, but the sound waves were so intense that it hit them like a solid object.

Ears ringing, Takuya sat up, one hand going to his head. "W-What was that?"

Datamon groaned. "That was DarkVolumon's power. He unleashes destructive sound waves that can actually do physical damage."

 _"Doomsday Woofer!"_

He unleashed another sound wave. Rockmon countered with his _Anti-Digi Beam_ attack. When the sound wave flowed over the energy beam, it was as if the attack had struck a wall, blasting against it. The sound wave though, being just that, sound, continued onward, tearing up the room further, knocking back the occupants.

"It's no wonder he was able to drive everyone out," said TK. "How's anyone supposed to stand up to that?"

"Tai, Davis," said Takato, "you better Spirit Evolve."

Groaning, Tai tried to stand up. "We can't, not in here. This room is too narrow. We need to get out."

Shoutmon held his hands together, creating a fireball. "Then allow me to provide a distraction. _Fiery Fastball!"_

"Me too!" Rockmon declared. _"Guardian Bomb!"_

The two balls of energy flew at DarkVolumon. He unleashed his alternate sound wave attack, _Heavy Speaker_ , that sent out his attack in a wave rather than a beam, causing the entire room to twist out of shape. The incoming attacks exploded before they reached him, but obscuring his vision with a wall of smoke. As he waited for it to clear, Tai and Davis rushed past him. He turned to the closest one as they ran by, emitting another sound wave that bent the metal doorframe out of shape, but missing his target.

Now in the much roomier hall, Tai whipped out his Digivice. "You ready, Davis?"

The younger boy held up his. "Lets do it. _Execute! Spirit Evolution… ExVeemon!"_

 _"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Greymon!"_

DarkVolumon didn't even blink at this sudden transformation and simply unleashed another sound wave. ExVeemon took to the air while Greymon rolled to the side and fired a _Nova Blast_ , but his rolling motion threw off his aim, and the attack exploded against the ground in front of the machine Digimon.

"My turn!" ExVeemon declared. _"Vee-Laser!"_

DarkVolumon shielded himself as the attack blasted against him. Then he turned his speaker on the dragon Digimon, emitting a sound wave that threw him back. ExVeemon used the opportunity to fire his _Hearty Shooter_ , but DarkVolumon shifted the direction of his sound waves, causing the fireballs to burst against them, and sending the dragon Digimon crashing to the ceiling, pinning him there as wave after wave held him in place.

 _"Nova Blast!"_

DarkVolumon couldn't redirect his sound waves in time, and the massive fireball blasted him back. He recovered quickly and roared angrily, unleashing sound wave after sound wave, seemingly intent on bringing down the whole tower. Metal rippled and bent from his destructive force as Greymon and ExVeemon covered their ears, unable to even approach.

 _"Gigantic Press!"_ Rockmon cried, doing a backflip and landing on DarkVolumon, body slamming him from behind. The machine Digimon fell flat on his stomach as Rockmon attempted to pin him down, but DarkVolumon fired his _Doomsday Woofer_ , launching them upward. Rockmon was crushed between DarkVolumon's body and the ceiling before they fell back to the ground.

Reaching behind him, DarkVolumon grabbed the wireframe Digimon and used his _Horn Breaker_ attack to fling him against the wall before firing another sound wave upon him, the wall bending out of shape behind Rockmon's body.

 _"Nano Spore!"_

The attack came from behind as Datamon fired mini-bombs from his fingers, but they exploded against another sound wave DarkVolumon sent back at him before he returned his attention back to the dinosaur and dragon Digimon.

Datamon collapsed to his knees, and the teens attempted to help him. "I'm sorry," he groaned. "He drained all my power when he hooked those cables into my body."

"Don't blame yourself," Kari told him, "just focus on recovering your strength."

The machine Digimon chuckled humorlessly. "It's insulting, an Ultimate like me unable to take a Champion like him. But those sound waves…"

"We know," Shoutmon replied, "it's a unique ability that gives him an edge. Don't worry about it."

But Datamon still refused to give up. "Listen to me, I think I might know what the problem is." He pointed at DarkVolumon. "Look, look at his back. See that black gear sticking out of it?"

They looked at where he was pointing as DarkVolumon continued unleashing sound waves at Greymon and ExVeemon. There, sticking out of his back, was half of a large black gear, the other half buried in his metal body.

TK looked back at Datamon. "What about it?"

"It's not part of him. It shouldn't be there."

"Wait," said Takato, "so it doesn't belong to his anatomy? I thought it was just part of his body."

"No, he's right," Shoutmon replied. "I didn't notice it before, but that gear shouldn't be there."

"Well," said Takuya, "I guess if you had a large black gear stuck inside your body, you'd act a little crazy too."

Shoutmon nodded. "It must have forced him into his darker Digivolution form. I'll take care of this. _Fiery Fastball!"_

He threw the flaming ball of energy, aiming for the gear. DarkVolumon glanced back, saw the attack coming, and whirled around, smacking it aside. Shoutmon growled and produced his microphone before he charged at the machine Digimon.

"This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you," he told DarkVolumon. "Literally."

 _"Doomsday Woofer!"_ the machine Digimon shouted, unleashing a sound wave.

Shoutmon had been waiting for this and held out his mic. When the sound wave flowed over it, the mic amplified the volume and sent the sound wave out in every direction. Shoutmon cried out and was thrown back. The sound wave flowed back over DarkVolumon as well, and he went flying through the air, head over heels.

"Batter up!" Greymon declared.

Charging forward, he spun around and used his _Tail Crash_ attack, striking the machine Digimon. DarkVolumon went crashing into the wall, then dropped down to the ground, laying on his stomach.

"Quickly!" Kari shouted. "Get rid of that black gear in his back!"

"You mean this?" ExVeemon asked, zeroing in on the gear. "I'm on it! _Vee-Laser!"_

The attack flew at the fallen Digimon, hitting the black object in his back. The gear dislodged itself and came out. Strangely enough, DarkVolumon's back was perfectly intact, the black gear having left no mark on him, as if it had simply fazed through his body rather than cut through it.

As for the gear itself, it spun on the floor for a few minutes like a coin that had been flipped before breaking down into data particles and disappearing. Whatever it was, it seemed they would never know the answers to their questions.

DarkVolumon groaned, and his body began to glow. The others watched in fascination as the glowing Digimon's body reshaped itself. When the light faded, a new Digimon, similar in appearance, but still different from DarkVolumon, now lay on the ground.

"Hey," Rockmon exclaimed, "it's Ballistamon, he's back!"

"Who's Ballistamon?" TK asked.

A MetalKoromon suddenly appeared. "He's DarkVolumon's alternate Champion level. This is the form he's been in since he started working here."

Shoutmon struggled to his feet, using his microphone for support. "That black gear must have forced him to Slide Evolution to his dark stage."

Takato glanced at him. "What's that mean?"

The dragon Digimon sighed. "A Digimon's Digivolution line has many options. When a Digimon Digivolves, there are various forms it can take. When a Digimon changes their stage from one form to another of the same level, it's called Sliding Evolution. This was what happened with Ballistamon when he became DarkVolumon, he swapped one Champion form for another."

"Oooook…"

With a groan, Ballistamon sat up. Rockmon helped him along, seemingly concerned for the machine Digimon "Are you ok, my friend?"

Ballistamon looked up at him. "Boss? What happened?"

"You mean you don't remember?" Datamon asked, making his way over to them.

Ballistamon rubbed his head. "I'm not sure. Everything is fuzzy, like I just woke up from a dream. I remember coming to check on a maintenance problem. We got a reading that something had collided with the tower. I came up to see what it was, and then…" His eyes widened. "Yes, and then that gear burst through the wall, and hit me in the back. It forced me to Slide Evolution. I couldn't stop myself. That's the last thing I remember in full. The rest are just bits and pieces. I wasn't in control of myself." He looked at them worriedly. "I didn't hurt anyone, did I?"

Greymon changed back to Tai. "Don't worry about it. It wasn't anything we couldn't handle."

ExVeemon landed beside him and became Davis again. "Yeah, no biggie. Just be more careful when making repairs next time."

This earned a laugh as the tension broke. But Shoutmon's laughter died quickly as he frowned. Something about the situation just hadn't seemed right. While it looked like it may have been nothing more than an accident, something was telling him that it was more than that. What more, as mechanical as this place was, he had a funny feeling that that black gear hadn't come from Machine Tower.

 **(A/N: Ok, ok, I know you all know who sent out the black gear, but for the sake of the story, I'll be leaving them in the dark as if it's still a mystery. But they're only the first of many villains that will be appearing. Some from different Seasons, some that weren't. This one is just the first. So I hope you'll look forward to more, because there's going to be a lot more.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the _DOT_ in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Guardromon**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/** **Kokuwamon**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/** **Rockmon**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/MetalKoromon**

 ** **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Datamon****

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/DarkVolumon**

 ** **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Ballistamon****


	10. Chapter 10: Primary Village

**(A/N: FINALLY! I don't know what the problem was with me being unable to upload documents, but it seems like things are back in working order. Now things can get back to normal. So, lets get on with the next chapter.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 10: Primary Village**

It seemed his little experiment was a success. The attack on Machine Tower had indeed paid off. Not only had his black gear bent Ballistamon to his will, it had also reverted him to his evil Champion level stage. Yes, his test had been most profitable.

There had been one minor set back though. Those human children and their Digimon friend had sabotaged things. They discovered it was his black gear that had been causing all the trouble and destroyed it, breaking his control over the machine Digimon.

It didn't really matter though. In the grand scheme of things, Machine Tower wasn't all that important. He could always go back and claim it later. The real prize was the results of his experiment. His black gears worked. True, he may have lost one, but he had several more left, and File Island had no shortage of them; he could always get more.

Now came the time to set his sights on his main goal. There was a spot on this island that was perhaps the most valuable in the entire Digital World. True, there were numerous valuable and important places, but this one was special. It was the starting point of all life, where Digimon were reborn after they died. As such, many considered it to be the "center" of the Digital World.

To him, it was his ticket to taking over. It still wouldn't be easy though. As strong as he was, it would be impossible for him alone to rule over all the Baby and In-Training Digimon; there were just too many. This was why he was using his black gears to take control of their guardians. With them under his control, he could enforce his will on the Baby and In-Training Digimon through them. And with his successful experiment on Machine Tower, he could now set his plan in motion.

He summoned forth another black gear. This one would be the first, the starting point in his master plan to rule. With a wave of his hand, he sent it out into the distance with a set target in mind.

"Now it begins."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"Well, I'll be," Shoutmon awed. "It's been a long time since I was here."

Following close behind, the teens looked at what exactly _here_ was. From the looks of it, they had stumbled across a massively large playpen or daycare center that stretched on for miles. They had no idea what it was, but after exploring Machine Tower, they didn't think much would surprise them.

It had been a real let down to discover that the machine Digimon were unable to return them home. They had been hoping that with as technologically advanced as Machine Tower was, they would have some way to send them home. Alas, it seemed that no form of technology could do that.

Datamon had claimed that only a rare select few extraordinarily powerful Digimon could perform inter-dimensional travel, and even then, the Real World was beyond their reach. Not only that, it was widely believed that, since they were made of data, that Digimon could not survive in the Real World, and so attempting to go there was not only considered blasphemy, but just plain crazy and suicidal.

That wasn't to say that it wasn't possible. It must be since the five of them had somehow come to the Digital World. And so they had resumed their journey to Cherubimon's home, and after a few days of traveling, they now found themselves here.

"What is this place?" TK asked. "It looks like a giant playpen."

"I think that's what it is," Tai remarked.

Kari glanced at Shoutmon. "Is it?"

He shrugged. "More or less. This is Primary Village. It's where all Digimon are born."

"Oh," said Davis, trying to understand, "so it's like one big paternity ward?"

The look Shoutmon gave him indicated that he had no idea what the boy was talking about. "If that's how things work in your world, I guess."

"I don't think we're on the same page," Takuya replied. "How about you explain things to us, and we'll explain our ways to you."

Shoutmon shrugged. "Fair enough. I told you before that Digimon never really die. When they do, their care data reconfigures into a Digi-Egg. This is where the eggs materialize. Look, here comes one now."

He pointed a few yards away. The spot he was pointing at began to distort. Glowing particles of data were appearing out of thin air and coming together. A large colorful egg the size of a football appeared, and the air around it became still once more.

"See," said Shoutmon. "That poor soul met their end somewhere in this world, so now they've ended up back here. Once it hatches, they'll be able to start over again to reach the same level they were at before, or higher, or maybe they'll even take a different Digivolutionary route."

"Oh, I get it," said Takato. "It's almost like having your game reset and staring back at the save point you were at last. But all the experience you gained since you last saved is lost."

Shoutmon gave him a bewildered look. "Yeah… sure, whatever."

"So you started out here too?" Kari asked.

The dragon Digimon nodded. "Yup, we all did. And let me tell you, dying is not fun, and it's annoying as heck." He gave them a curious look. "So how does birth work in your world?"

Immediately, all the boy's faces dropped. They shared an uneasy look and began sweating nervously before glaring at Takuya for offering to tell Shoutmon how things worked.

Kari rolled her eyes. "What is it with boys and finding this subject so uneasy?" She shook her head. "I'll explain things. You see, Shoutmon, when two people love each other very, very much…"

She then proceeded to give the Digimon a thorough lesson on human reproduction. Knowing that he had no knowledge on how things worked in the human world, she tried to give him as much information as she could, finding no discomfort in the topic, viewing it as a natural and beautiful part of life.

She didn't skim over the details either, not even of the deed itself, and what happened to a woman's body each month when they didn't conceive. The boys continued to look increasingly uncomfortable, and Tai appeared to be utter appalled and the most shocked that his little sister actually knew so much on the subject.

By the time she finished, Shoutmon looked pale and disturbed. "Seriously? Babies actually come out of… _there?_ But… but that's… that's disgusting!"

"You're preaching to the choir," Davis agreed.

Kari shook her head. "It's not disgusting, it's perfectly natural, and it's how things work in the Real World."

Shoutmon shivered and brushed his arms off as if he felt dirty. "That's so wrong. I can understand the part about taking mates, most species of Digimon do that too, but not for… breeding purposes. But the whole monthly bleeding thing, and the pregnancy, and labor, and childbirth stuff you mentioned, that's just so… blah!"

"Don't we know it," Tai grumbled.

Kari chuckled. "You boys are all alike, no matter what dimension."

"I guess it makes sense that Digimon don't reproduce," Tai noted. "Since they never really die, if they did reproduce more, there'd be overpopulation."

Shoutmon shook his finger at him. "There are some rare cases where, if the data of a very powerful Digimon is not absorbed, it will create a brand new Digimon instead of just disappearing, but that hardly ever happens. But overpopulation isn't really a problem either since Digimon tend to DNA Digivolve from time to time." He shook his head. "Well, come on, I'll show you how things work in the Digital World."

They followed him into the village. The further in they went, the less it seemed like a village and the more it seemed like a child's playpen. Not only that, but Digi-Eggs of all different colors and patterns were scattered all over the place. There were also strange cribs that contained Baby Digimon. Some were empty, the occupants playing a short distance away.

"Hey," said Takato, "um, shouldn't a big chicken be sitting on these?"

Shoutmon gave him a confused look. "Why would you sit on eggs? Are you trying to crush them?"

"Course not," Takuya replied. "That's just what birds do in our world. They sit on them to use their body heat to keep the eggs warm in order to make them hatch."

Shoutmon just shrugged. "I don't know about keeping them warm. Digi-Eggs hatch no matter what temperature. Rubbing them gently helps though." He picked up a random egg and began rubbing it. "This helps coax them out, and it also creates static they can use as energy to help them develop. Oh, look at that!"

The egg he held began to crack. Not in a bad way, but in the hatching sense. The eggshells fell away, and Shoutmon now held a newborn Baby Digimon.

"Aww," Kari cooed. "It's so cute."

Shoutmon scoffed. "Cute, right. For all you know, this could be the Baby form of the Ogremon, Kuwagamon, or Fangmon we faced." Kari jumped back, and he snickered. "Don't worry, it's not. Their eggs haven't had enough time to develop for them to hatch yet. Besides, the truly evil Digimon that are dead set on total domination are never allowed to reach their full potential again; we that fight for the light make sure of that. For other bad Digimon, well, we just hope that dying was punishment enough and they learned their lesson."

By his feet, the eggshells broke into data and reform into a new cradle. Smiling, Shoutmon set the Baby Digimon down in its new resting place.

"That was cool," said TK. "It's kind of like recycling."

"Of sorts," Shoutmon agreed. "They'll last until the Baby Digimon Digivolves, then break down into data again."

Davis looked at an egg curiously. "Hey, what happened if an egg gets smashed?"

Shoutmon raised an eyebrow. "What do you think? It reconfigures again, and the developing process starts all over again."

Davis cut his eyes at him. "Well, excuse me."

" _Down Tornado!"_

The attack came out of nowhere. By the time they turned to the angry voice, a tornado was whirling towards them. Within this tornado were numerous feathers, and the cold wind the spinning vortex caused sent them flying towards the teens.

Shoutmon reacted quickly. This involved head-butting Davis in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him, and him out of the path of the feathers, which pierced the ground where he was standing as if they were knives.

The mini-tornado died down, and behind it came a Digimon rushing forward to meet them. It was a large majestic swan, truly beautiful, but it wore a scowl on its face. And behind it was a group of In-Training Digimon, bouncing to keep up.

"Get away from my babies!" the swan Digimon seethed. She moved in front of the Baby Digimon that had just hatched, holding her wings out protectively. "If you hurt any of them, I'll end you."

Davis stood up, whipping out his Digivice. "Oh, yeah!"

Tai held up his hand out in front of his lookalike and shook his head, not taking his eyes off the swan Digimon. "We're not here to hurt anyone. We're just passing through."

The swan Digimon glared at him. "I heard that one," she motioned to Davis, "talk about smashing my eggs."

Shoutmon waved his arms wildly. "No, no, no! He asked what _would_ happen if one was smashed, not that he was going to do it. See, these folks are from another world. They're humans, and things work differently in their world, so they were only curious. This one, though," he motioned at Davis, "is a bit of an idiot, and doesn't always think before he talks."

"Hey!"

In the newly formed cradle, the Baby Digimon addressed the swan Digimon. "It's true. They helped me hatch, and the dumb one just asked a simple question."

Visibly relaxing, the swan Digimon lowered her wings. "Well, that's a relief. I'm sorry I was suspicious. I can be a little overprotective of my babies and eggs."

"Wait, _your_ babies and eggs?" TK repeated. He glanced a Shoutmon. "I thought you said that-"

"It's just a term of endearment," the dragon Digimon interrupted.

The swan Digimon placed her wigs over her heart. "Yes, until these little ones go off on their own, I think of them as my babies. My name is Swanmon. I'm the acting mother for all the Digi-Eggs, Babies, and In-Trainings."

Kari looked around at the large playpen that could easily be its own city. "So it's just you taking care of all these little guys on your own?"

Swanmon shook her head. "Oh, no. Elecmon is around here somewhere. He's the acting guardian and father figure. Also," she motioned to the In-Training Digimon, "the In-Trainings that stay here help with the younger ones."

Takato crouched down to look at the In-Trainings. "So these guys act like big siblings to the little guys."

Swanmon nodded. "Yes, until they reach the Rookie level, at which point I'm forced to send them on their way in order to make room for the newcomers." She wiped away a tear. "It's always so hard to see them go. Of course, they can leave at any time after their initial hatching, but I prefer that they at least wait until they reach the In-Training level."

Kari sighed. "All birds must leave the nest eventually. "At the confused looks she received from the Digimon she said, "It's just an expression we humans use."

"Oh, yes, I see," Swanmon replied. "That is a very good analogy."

One of the In-Trainings hopped up to Swanmon. "Hey, can we play with the funny looking creatures."

This was met with cheers from the others. Swanmon tried to shush them, but they refused to settle, and she gave the humans a hopeful pleading look.

Tai shook his head. "Sorry, we don't have time. We've got to get back to our-"

"Oh, come on, Tai," Kari begged, having already fallen in love with the little Digimon and their cuteness. "We've been walking all day; we could use a break."

"Since when has playing with a bunch of little kids been break?"

"Oh, please. Just for a little while."

Looking at him like that, he just couldn't bring himself to say no. "Oh, alright, but just for a while."

"Yay!" the Digimon cried.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Tag was apparently a favorite game amongst the Baby and In-Training Digimon. With most of them only being a head, their game options were rather limited. All the same, Kari enjoyed herself immensely. Whether human or Digimon, it seemed that kids would be kids. And she really loved children; it was one of the reasons she wanted to be a teacher when she grew up.

At the moment, they were playing a variation of Tag where whoever was 'it' had to jump on the others' shadow, Shadow Tag it was commonly called. Being very good hoppers, the Digimon held a great advantage, though Kari's speed was able to keep her ahead of them.

That is, until she turned a corner behind several giant toy blocks piled on top of each other and came to a halt. The laughing Digimon quickly caught up, but the fun soon ended as they saw what made her stop.

The area was torn apart. Everything was destroyed, and there were scorch marks everywhere, as if lightning had struck in several places.

"W-What happened here?" she wondered out loud as the Digimon cowered behind her.

"Look, over there," one of them cried.

Lacking hands, it pointed with its ears. Kari looked to see a beat up, seemingly unconscious In-Training Digimon stuck beneath what appeared to be a giant teddy bear.

"Oh, no!" She hurried over to the trapped Digimon. "Are you ok? Who did this toy you?"

The little Digimon groaned. "E-Elec…mon… he went… he went…"

"Hold on, I'm going to try to get you out." She grabbed the giant stuffed arm, glancing quickly at the other Digimon. "You guys, hurry and go tell the others."

"Yes, Miss Kari!" they chorused, and hopped off.

"Just try and keep still," she told the trapped Digimon, and began lifting. Apparently, giant stuffed animals were very heavy.

"Elecmon…" the Digimon moaned again.

"Don't worry," Kari told it, "we'll find Elecmon. Swanmon said he's around here somewhere."

"No!" the Digimon squealed. "Elecmon, he went bad."

This gave Kari pause. "What?"

The weight of the stuffed animal suddenly became too heavy, and she dropped it. Looking up, she saw a large paw pressing down on it, having been the extra weight she felt. There was a vicious snarl, and the claw swiped at her.

She jumped back, nearly getting slashed, and fell over. The Digimon that had attacked her resembled a giant purple rabbit with yellow stripes, and it possessed a peacock-like tail of fur rather than feathers.

Kari scooted back. "Elecmon?"

Was this really the fatherly figure of Primary Village? Had he thought she was attacking his babies like Swanmon did and was trying to defend them?

' _But wait, what did that Digimon say? Elecmon went bad?'_

Taking out her Digivice, she did a quick analysis. "You're not Elecmon, you're ViElecmon, a dark, virus version of Elecmon."

ViElecmon growled as electricity flowed over his body. A bolt shout out, and Kari rolled aside, allowing the bolt to singe the ground.

"I guess that explains the scorch marks," she muttered.

Snarling, ViElecmon leapt off the bear, the movement freeing the trapped Digimon. He paid it no mind though as he focused on the human girl before him. He towered over her by several feet, his fur standing on end like an aggravated cat.

"Please, don't hurt me," she begged. "I didn't do anything." But she only received a snarl in response. Desperately, she looked to her Digivice. "If I'm going to Spirit Evolve, now would be a good time."

" _Assassin Bolt!"_ ViElecmon roared, firing three darts of electricity.

Kari scrambled out of the way and got to her feet. Holding up her Digivice, she screamed, "Go, Spirit Evolution!"

Nothing happened. She remained human, and ViElecmon rose to his hind legs, towering over her like a bear as electricity ran across his body. Her eyes drifted lower and widened at what she saw. Sticking out of ViElecmon's stomach was a familiar looking black gear, the same kind that had turned Ballistamon into DarkVolumon.

"Is that…?" she whispered.

" _Jamming Thunder!"_ ViElecmon cried, firing bolts of electricity from his tail.

Kari covered her head as the electricity came. From behind her, a fireball flew by, crossing paths with the electricity, causing an explosion. Shoutmon hopped in front of her, wielding his microphone.

"You ok, Kari?" he asked.

She nodded. "Y-Yes, but he's crazy. I think it's because of that gear."

"Gear?" Shoutmon repeated. Then he too spotted it. "Hey, that's just like the one from Machine Tower."

"One of the Digimon told me that Elecmon went bad."

Shoutmon chuckled humorlessly. "That's an understatement. ViElecmon is as nasty as Elecmon is nice. But why's he so big? Both Elecmon and ViElecmon are only about my size. Hey, what's up with you, big guy?"

ViElecmon snarled at him and charged. Shoutmon rushed to meet him, swinging his mic. _"Rock and Roller!"_

" _Dark Tail!"_

Whirling around, the mammal Digimon slapped him with his electrically charged tail. Shoutmon crashed into the pile of blocks and the whole structure collapsed on him.

"Shoutmon!" Kari shouted.

ViElecmon turned back to her, growling. Kari backed away as the overgrown Digimon stalked towards her, his fur sparking with electricity.

There was a loud roar, and Greymon came charging in, tackling ViElecmon. "Get away from my sister!"

"Greymon!" Kari exclaimed.

From up above, ExVeemon landed in front of her. "Stay back, Kari, we'll handle this."

He flew towards the mammal Digimon as ViElecmon threw Greymon aside. He fired a _Vee-Laser_ , and ViElecmon snarled as it blasted against him. He turned his attention to the dragon Digimon and pounced, tackling ExVeemon to the ground.

Pinning down his prey, the mammal Digimon growled in ExVeemon's face. Making a fist, ExVeemon punched him in the jaw, and ViElecmon toppled over. Greymon then grabbed him from behind and threw him into a wall that appeared to have been used by the Baby and In-Training Digimon to color on.

" _Nova Blast!"_

" _Vee-Laser!"_

The two of them fired continuous attacks at the mammal Digimon, and the wall crumbled on top of him.

"You guys, stop!" Kari shouted, gaining their attention. "He's got a black gear inside him, just like Ballistamon did!"

"What's that?" Greymon asked. "He's got a gear?"

The pile of rubble burst apart as ViElecmon merged.

"Yeah, look," said ExVeemon. "Right there, it's stuck in his gut. That's gotta hurt."

ViElecmon roared. Electricity began flying off his body in different directions, and the other two Digimon recoiled.

"Geez, what's up with this guy?" ExVeemon grumbled. "What level is he anyway?"

Kari recalled her reading. "My Digimon Analyzer said he's only a Rookie."

A bolt struck Greymon's shoulder, and he snarled. "He's stronger than a Rookie. That gear must be making him stronger."

"Shoutmon did say he was a lot bigger than he should be," his sister replied, glancing worriedly at the giant blocks the dragon Digimon was buried under.

"Well," said ExVeemon, "I guess that supports your theory. I'm taking out that gear."

He flew in, his target the black gear in ViElecmon's gut. The mammal Digimon glared at him as he came in and jumped up to meet him. ExVeemon threw a punch, aiming for the gear, but ViElecmon hit him with his _Dark Tail_ attack, knocking him back.

"What is going on here!?" an angry voice demanded.

Kari and Greymon turned to see Swanmon, TK, Takato, Takuya, and several low level Digimon rushing over.

"Fighting is prohibited in this village!" the swan Digimon snapped. "Cease this fighting at once!"

Greymon was about to point out that it was ViElecmon who was attacking them when he noticed something black flying through the air. Whatever it was, it was coming in fast, heading straight for the group.

"Swanmon, look out!" he called.

But he was too late. The second black gear dropped down and slammed into the swan Digimon from behind, burying into her back. A look of shock and pain crossed her face, and she dropped down, seemingly unconscious.

"Swanmon!" Takato cried.

He dropped down by her side, wary of the black gear sticking out of her back. TK knelt down beside him. The two exchanged a look before the blonde reached to try and remove the gear, only to have his hand shocked when he touched it.

Swanmon's eyes suddenly snapped open, but there was something different about them. All compassion had vanished from their depths, as had, seemingly, all signs of awareness. With a vicious squawk, she lashed out at the two humans, jumping to her feet.

Spreading her wings, she took to the air and landed beside ViElecmon. The two exchanged a look, an unspoken form of communication seeming to pass between them. They turned their blank gazes on the others, looking ready for a fight.

 **(A/N: We've entered Primary Village. I used the guardians of both Season 1 and Season 4. Only this time, one of them has gone bad. I always tried to come up with a reason as to why You Know Who targeted File Island, and I realized that they probably chose it due to it being the location of Primary Village. With the black gears, they could have taken over and influenced the baby Digimon when they were still young to turn them into their servants. It made sense to me, so I incorporated that in my story. And poor Elecmon was the first victim. Lets see where it goes from here. Is someone new going to Spirit Evolve, or are Greymon and ExVeemon going to be the ones to save the day again? Find out next time.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the _DOT _ in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Swanmon**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Elecmon**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Elecmon** **#Vi-Elecmon**


	11. Chapter 11: Flame On

**(A/N: Alrighty then. After a cliffhanger ending last chapter, we're moving on to part two of the battle with ViElecmon. And now, Swanmon has joined the fight. Lets see what happens. By the way, this chapter title was _not_ supposed to be a **_**Fantastic 4**_ **reference, it just came out that way, and I didn't realize it until later. I still like it though, so I kept it.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 11: Flame On**

ExVeemon got to his feet and rejoined Greymon. Swanmon and ViElecmon glared at the two if them, ready to attack at any moment.

"So, what now?" ExVeemon asked. "We can't fight them like the others. It's not like they're evil Digimon."

"I know," Greymon replied, "it's those gears; they're controlling them somehow. We have to destroy them without hurting Swanmon or ViElecmon."

" _Assassin Bolt!"_ ViElecmon cried, firing electric darts.

" _White Wing Flapping!"_ Swanmon cried, flapping her wings too unleash blades of wind.

The dragon and dinosaur Digimon jumped away from the attacks.

"Yeah, that's easier said than done," the former grumbled. "I'll see if I can get Swanmon's from the air."

He took to the sky, circling around overhead. With the gear in sight, he fired a _Vee-Laser_ at it. Swanmon flapped her wings and her _Down Tornado_ formed around her, blocking his attack. This was followed by several knife-feathers being shot up at him. ExVeemon quickly shielded his face, but still had to bite back a pained cry as the feathers stabbed into his arms and chest.

Bursting out of her tornado, Swanmon flew up towards him, slamming into his exposed gut. ExVeemon grunted, but had no time to recover as she brought him down.

"ExVeemon- Argh!" Greymon had been in he process of calling out to his friend when ViElecmon shocked him. He turned his gaze up to the mammal Digimon and cried, _"Fire Wall!"_

The flames that spilled from his mouth rose into a large wall of fire, cutting off him and ViElecmon. The mammal Digimon jumped away from the flames, his fur standing on end in anger.

Roaring, Greymon came charging through the flames. ViElecmon leapt at him, but Greymon struck him with his _Tail Crash_ instead. He was back on his feet a moment later, firing off more _Assassin Bolts_ , causing Greymon to dance away from him in a very comical fashion.

Meanwhile, ExVeemon had managed to kick Swanmon off him. She spread her wings and remained airborne as ExVeemon jumped to his feet. With several flaps from her wings, she sent out blades of wind that struck the dragon Digimon like a sword.

" _Vee-Laser!"_ he cried, holding back so he wouldn't hurt the swan Digimon.

Swanmon knocked the attack aside and unleashed her _Down Tornado_ on ExVeemon. The dragon Digimon cried out as freezing wind and feather knives sliced across his body. She then swooped down at him, knocking him off his feet. Once more, he was pinned down, and Swanmon made to poke out his eyes with her beak. His hands wrapped around her neck to hold her back as her razor-feathered wings batted him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Greymon saw that ExVeemon was in trouble. "Enough of this! _Nova Blast!"_

He aimed at the ground in front of ViElecmon, so as not to hurt him. The mammal Digimon recoiled from the blast, and Greymon used the opportunity to charge at Swanmon and head butt her with his _Great Antler_ attack, knocking her off his friend.

"This isn't working," he said, helping ExVeemon to his friend. "We need to come up with a plan to stop them without hurting them."

ExVeemon noticed ViElecmon charging towards them. "I don't think they share your concern."

As ViElecmon unleashed his _Jamming Thunder_ , something leapt out from the pile of collapsed giant blocks. Wielding his microphone, Shoutmon turned towards the mammal Digimon and cried _"Bellow Blaster!"_

A wave of energy burst from his mic, flowing towards ViElecmon. The wave cancelled out the electricity and knocked the mammal Digimon off his feet.

"Oh, good, you're alive," said ExVeemon.

Shoutmon glared at him. "Thanks for your concern, now lets get out of here, hurry."

Bending down, Greymon allowed the little dragon Digimon to climb onto his head, and they hurried over to their companions. As they made their escape, Swanmon flew into their path and unleashed her _Down Tornado._

As Greymon and ExVeemon moved to defend their friends, the Baby and In-Training level Digimon jumped in front of the attack. There were cries of _"Bubble Blow!"_ and they began blowing out pink bubbles. A wall of the pink spheres bunched up in front of them as the tornado collided with it. The bubbles began popping, but the wall held for several long seconds.

When the last of the bubbles had popped, the humans and the Digimon were gone, and Swanmon's enraged squawk echoed through the village.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

It wasn't much of a hiding place, but it would have to do. In any case, it didn't seem like Swanmon or the abnormally large ViElecmon would be able to fit inside. Who would have thought that the inside of the playground equipment would be a suitable hiding place? Currently, they were all cramped together inside a plastic igloo with a few holes in the sides, allowing them to see out.

"We can't stay here forever," Davis pointed out, both he and Tai having taken on their human forms.

"This is just until we can come up with a plan," Tai reminded him. "So lets think. How can we fight them without hurting them?"

"We could set a trap," Takuya suggested.

"How's that supposed to work?" Takato demanded, growing frustrated. "This whole village is one giant playpen. How can we set a trap with a bunch of toys?"

Kari looked at the Baby and In-Training Digimon. "Hey, maybe we can use those magic bubbles these guys were blowing."

Davis glanced at them. "Yeah, what's up with those bubbles? They totally stopped Swanmon's attack."

"It's a defensive ability," Shoutmon explained. "All Digimon at their level have such abilities in order to protect themselves, otherwise they'd be easy targets for stronger Digimon. The bubbles absorb and block other Digimon's attacks, even the really powerful ones. They can't really do much in the long run though."

TK, who had been looking through a small opening, gave them a sullen look. "I think we have a bigger problem. It looks like Swanmon's gone ballistic."

The others crowded around. The opening was small, but from what they could see, it looked as if Swanmon was randomly flying over the village, unleashing her _Down Tornado_ in certain areas without care as to who or what was caught up in it.

"She must be looking for us," Takato theorized.

"Yeah, no kidding," Davis grumbled. "What are we going to do?"

Kari looked horrified as the swan Digimon created another tornado. "All those poor Digimon, they're defenseless against her."

"Do you see ViElecmon anywhere?" Shoutmon asked.

TK looked around. "No, nowhere. He's probably stalking the grounds somewhere."

An In-Training Digimon hopped over to them. "Please, you have to help our friends. Swanmon and ViElecmon don't know what they're doing."

Tai sighed. "At this rate, more innocents will be hurt if we don't fight than if we do. We have no choice, we'll have to go back out there."

"Hold on!" Takato cried. "Didn't we just run from a fight?"

"Only because we didn't want to hurt Swanmon or ViElecmon, but now they're the ones going around hurting the Digimon of this village. We have to stop them, even if it means they get hurt in the process."

Kari frowned. "The lesser of the two evils then. I guess I understand."

He gave his sister a smile. "Don't worry, we'll try to hold back. All we need to do is destroy those black gears, and they'll return to normal."

Davis punched the air. "Now that's what I'm talking about! Solid plan."

"Oooook…" Takato muttered; it didn't seem like much of a plan to him, but there was nothing he could do about it without the ability to Spirit Evolve.

Tai turned to the dragon Digimon. "Shoutmon, you stay here and take care of everyone. Be sure to keep them safe."

The so-called Digimon King thumped his chest. "You can count on me."

With a grateful smile, Tai squeezed out of the small opening, followed by Davis, who gave them a thumbs up. "Hey, don't worry, we'll take care of this, no problem."

"Just be careful," TK told them.

Tai held up his Digivice. "You too. Now then, _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Greymon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… ExVeemon!_ Be back in a flash."

The teens watched nervously as their friends hurried off. After a few minutes, they saw Swanmon swoop down, presumably having spotted the two.

"I hope everything turns out ok," Kari pleaded.

TK took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry, they can take care of themselves."

For the next several minutes, they continued to keep watch. Every now and then, they would see an explosive blast or a tornado in the distance, indicating that the fight was going on, but otherwise, they were too far away to see what was happening.

A sudden jolt rocked them as if something had collided with the plastic igloo. Another one followed, and the igloo was completely flipped over, exposing them to the outside. ViElecmon growled down at them, having sniffed out their hiding place, and this time, there was no Greymon or ExVeemon to protect them.

"Get back!" Shoutmon cried, producing his mic as ViElecmon sent out several bolts of electricity. He threw the mic towards the attack, the metal conducting the electricity, and cupped his hands together. _"Fiery Fastball!"_

The attack exploded against ViElecmon's forehead, Snarling, he shook his head as electricity raced across his body. Shoutmon leapt at him, throwing a punch, and ViElecmon's jaws clamped down on his arm.

Shoutmon began kicking the mammal Digimon's jaw. "Let me go, you overgrown hairball!"

ViElecmon shook his head, swinging the dragon Digimon around before tossing him off to the side. Then his gaze shifted to the others, and the Baby and In-Training level Digimon shrieked fearfully and fled. The mammal Digimon roared and fired his _Assassin Bolt_ after them.

"Leave them alone!" Takuya shouted, charging blindly at their attacker.

ViEledmon glanced at him and swiped with his paws, knocking the boy to the ground.

"Takuya!" the others cried.

The mammal Digimon's attention shifted to them, and he started in their direction. The teens backed away, but had nowhere to go.

"What do we do now?" Takato asked.

TK's fists tightened. "Ok, I'll provide a distraction. You guys run."

"TK, no!" Kari objected, but he had already taken off.

"Come and get me, you stupid beast!" he yelled, waving his arms as he ran.

ViElecmon snarled and sent a bolt of electricity at him. It struck the ground in front of him, and he quickly went the other way. Another bolt flew in his path, this one causing him to topple over.

"TK, get out of there!" Kari shouted, attempting to get to him, but was held back by Takato, telling her that there was nothing she could do.

" _Jamming Thunder!"_ ViElecmon cried, firing off more electricity.

TK braced himself for the attack, just as something moved in front of him. Takuya cried out, having thrown himself in front of the attack's path in a last ditch effort to save his friend.

As the electricity flowed through him, the electrical charge sparked his Digivice. It began to chime and glow, and suddenly Takuya found himself engulfed in flames. They did not burn, rather, they caused the electricity to disperse.

As he realized the source of this power was coming from inside his pocket, he reached inside and pulled out his Digivice, realizing it had activated just as Tai and Davis' had.

"It's my turn now," he declared. _"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Agunimon!"_

ViElecmon growled, taking a step back as he stared at the transformed boy. Resembling a humanoid being wearing fire-based red armor, Takuya now stood as Agunimon.

"Incredible," TK exclaimed. "He Spirit Evolved."

"Whoa, he's awesome," Takato marveled. "He's like some legendary warrior of fire."

ViElecmon was less impressed as he snarled at Agunimon, but the fire wizard Digimon simply stared him down, glaring. "All right, ViElecmon, it's just you and me now. Time to get that gear out of you."

" _Jamming Thunder!"_

Agunimon rushed forward, maneuvering around the bolts of electricity. He reached ViElecmon within moments and lashed out with a fist full of fire. _"Crimson Knuckle!"_

ViElecmon toppled over onto his side from the blow. He recovered quickly through and struck with his _Dark Tail_ attack. Agunimon countered with his _Salamander Kick_ , singeing the ends of the mammal Digimon's tails, making him snarl.

"Now to set you free," Agunimon declared. _"Pyro Tornado!"_

He began spinning around and kicking. A flaming vortex surrounded him and rushed at ViElecmon. The mammal was caught up in it and lifted into the air, roaring as the flames burned him.

" _Pyro Punch!"_ Agunimon cried, aiming for the black gear.

A dragon made entirely out of fire burst from his fist and flew at ViElecmon's exposed belly. It exploded against him, and the black gear cracked apart and dislodged, the broken pieces dissolving into data.

ViElecmon made a grunting sound and immediately began to shrink. He continued to do so until he had gone from nearly the size of an elephant to no bigger than Shoutmon; the dragon Digimon had been right about his size. And when the fire tornado dispersed and he dropped from the sky, Agunimon caught him.

"Look at that," he observed. "I guess that black gear also made him bigger too."

In his arms, the mammal Digimon began glowing with the light of Digivolution. It lasted for only a few seconds, and when it faded, his color was different. He'd gone from purple with yellow stripes to red with blue stripes.

"Hey," said Kari, "is that…?" She took out her Digivice and did a quick analysis. "Yup, just as I thought. Elecmon, Rookie level, special attack _Super Thunder Strike._ He's the Data type version of the Virus type ViElecmon.

"Data type? Virus type?" Takato repeated. "What's that mean?"

With a grunt, Shoutmon limped over, rubbing his sore arm. "They're two of the three attributes a Digimon can be. There are a few that are unspecified though. I myself am one of them. Generally, we're either a Data type, Virus type, or a Vaccine type."

"Interesting," Agunimon muttered.

In his arms, Elecmon stirred, and his eyes cracked open. "Ouch… What hit me?" He looked up at Agunimon. "And where did you come from?"

An explosion in the distance drew the fire wizard Digimon's attention, and he quickly shoved the mammal Digimon into TK's arms. "You explain things. I have to go help the others."

Without waiting for a reply, he sped off. TK stared at the place he had been, surprised by the fire wizard Digimon's speed, then looked down at Elecmon, who was watching him curiously. "What the heck are you supposed to be?"

TK sweat-dropped. "Oh boy, where to start?"

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

It wasn't that hard to find the battlegrounds. They were certainly making enough noise, and the fleeing low-level Digimon were a good indicator. Agunimon hurried along until he reached the three combatants.

Greymon was on the ground, launching attacks up at Swanmon. ExVeemon was flying after her, firing the occasional _Vee-Laser_ , but she was good at maneuvering around the attacks.

Swooping down towards Greymon, she unleashed her _Down Tornado_ attack. The dinosaur Digimon was blown backwards into a wall as several feather-knives buried into his chest. Turning around, she avoided another _Vee-Laser_ and used her _White Wing Flapping_ attack. ExVeemon grunted as the blades of wind struck him as Swanmon turned back to Greymon and swooped towards him.

" _Fire Dash!"_ Agunimom cried, racing towards them.

Flames burst from the bottom of his feet, increasing his speed, and he left a trail of fire behind him. He zoomed past Greymon and Swanmon, the rising flames cutting the latter off. She squawked angrily and pulled out of her dive to avoid the flames, glaring at the newcomer.

Greymon looked at him as well. "Who are you?"

Agunimon turned towards Swanmon as he addressed his friends. "It's me, you guys, Takuya."

"Takuya," said ExVeemon. "You mean you Spirit Evolved?"

"That's right. Just call me Agunimon. It happened after you left when ViElecmon found us."

Greymon's eyes widened in concern. "The others! Are they…?"

"They're fine," Agunimon assured him, "and ViElecmon has been dealt with. I'll explain later. For now, lets end this."

ExVeemon glanced at Swanmon. "Yeah, but the problem is doing it without hurting her."

Agunimon punched his fists together. "I'll create an opening for you. Greymon, stand by to attack. ExVeemon, you get the gear. _Pyro Tornado!"_

He sent the flaming vortex at the swan Digimon. She defended by creating a _Down Tornado_ around herself. This only served to fuel the flames, and she was soon trapped within a fiery vortex.

" _Nova Blast!"_ Greymon cried, spitting a fireball at the flaming tornado. It exploded against it, creating a cloud of smoke that was sucked into the spinning vortex, completely blinding Swanmon.

ExVeemon burst through the smoke grabbing the swan Digimon from behind. She squawked and thrashed about violently. _"Critical Crunch!"_

His sharp teeth clamped down on the black gear. He felt the metal crack beneath his powerful bite as he chomped through, taking out a good chunk of it. He spat out the bits of metal as what was left of the gear slid out of Swanmon's back and dissolved.

The swan Digimon stopped struggling and went limp. As the tornado dispersed, ExVeemon slowly carried her down to the ground.

"Did you get it?" Greymon asked.

ExVeemon nodded. "Yeah, I think she'll be ok now. Hey, Swanmon, you back to normal?"

She grumbled and brushed him away. "I'm sleepy, kids, go play with Elecmon."

"We're not the kids," Greymon told her, walking over, "we're the visitors, remember?"

She cracked open her eyes. Upon seeing three Champion level Digimon staring at her, she gave a squawk of fright and began flapping her wings violently.

Swanmon! Swanmon!" Agunimon cried, shielding his face from her wings. "It's ok! It's us!"

He changed back to his human form. Greymon and ExVeemon quickly followed suit. Once the swan Digimon saw them, she began to calm down.

"Oh, it's you, boys. I'm sorry, I'm a little confused right now. I can't really remember what I was doing. I was… I was…" Her eyes widened in horror, and she covered her mouth. "Good gracious! What have I done?"

"Calm down," Tai consoled her. "You were being controlled by a black gear."

"So was Elecmon," Takuya added, "but they're gone now. Everything is fine."

"My babies!" Swanmon cried. "Where are my babies?"

"I'm sure they're fine," Tai reassured her. "They're just hiding from the fighting."

"And any that were caught up in it will just hatch from their eggs in a few days," Davis added. His comment earned him an elbow in the ribs from Tai. "What was that for?"

Swanmon ignored them and surveyed the damage to the village with tears in her eyes. Holding up her wings to her beak, she shouted, "Children, it's ok! We're all better now! Come out! Please, come out!"

Hesitantly, the Baby and In-Training Digimon crept out of their hiding places. Swanmon scooped up as many as she could in her wings, hugging them tightly before scooping up some more.

"Oh, my babies. Mommy's so sorry, she wasn't herself."

"She wasn't the only one."

They turned. The remaining humans and Elecmon had come out of hiding now that the danger was over.

"Elecmon," said the swan Digimon, looking relieved. "You're you again."

He nervously scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, those black gears are real nasty. I'm so sorry for what I did."

Shoutmon nudged him with his elbow. "Eh, don't worry about it. The problem's resolved." He suddenly frowned. "But those black gears are proving to be a real nuisance. I had hoped that the first one was just a fluke. But after this," he shook his head, "I'll have to look into it."

Kari patted his head. "At least no one was badly hurt."

"Yeah," Takato agreed. But then he looked around nervously. "Although, the village took some damage."

"No doubt," TK agreed, looking around. "We should help clean up."

But Swanmon just shook her head. "No, that's not your responsibility. And I know that you're trying to get home. Cleaning up all this will take several days, maybe weeks. Besides, you've done more than enough for us."

"But," Tai took another look around, "some of this destruction is our fault. I'll take forever to clean up without help."

Elecmon smirked. "Oh, not to worry," he placed his paws on two random In-Training Digimon's heads, "that's what these guys are for."

The low level Digimon looked at him in horror. "What?"

The mammal Digimon's grin widened. "That's right. It's time to earn your keep."

In unison, all the Baby and In-Trainings cried, "Wah! Elecmon is still evil!"

 **(A/N: Finally, someone else has Spirit Evolved. I was asked to do either him or Takato next. Did I meet everyone's expectations? Now we've just got three more to go. But those black gears are causing some real problems. We'll be getting some answers next chapter, so sit tight.)**

 **Agunimon's attacks:**

 **Pyro Punch** **– _S_** _ **hoots a fire dragon from fist.**_

 **Pyro Darts** **– _T_** _ **hrows bits of fire.**_

 **Pyro Tornado** **– _S_** _ **pins around while kicking to create a tornado of fire.**_

 **Fire Dash** **– _Dashes to leave a stream of fire in his wake._**

 **Blaze Gust ****–** _ **Shoots a stream of fire** **.**_

 **Crimson Knuckle** **– _F_** _ **ire punch.**_

 **Vortex Strike** **– _Fire kick._**

 **Salamander Kick** **– _Kicks while consumed by a fiery dragon._**

 **Elbow Drop** **– _Slams down with flaming elbow._**

 **Burning Slicer** **– _Fire chop._**

 **Gatling Burst** **– _Punches repeatedly._**

 **Million Gatling Burst** **– _A stronger version of_** **Gatling Burst.**

 **Blaze Shoot ****–** _ **D** **oes a downwards-sloping kick from the air.**_

 **Fire Slide** **– effects unknown**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the _DOT _ in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Agunimon**


	12. Chapter 12: The Face of Evil

**(A/N: Ok, I got a bit of bad news. Since this story is going to be so long, I've decided to start another story while still working on this one. So since I'll be doing 2 fics at once, I won't be able to update every week like I have been. Instead, I'll be aiming for every 2 weeks. So you'll just have to be patient a little longer between updates.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 12: The Face of Evil**

So close. He'd been so close. The guardians of Primary Village had been in his power. He'd actually managed to achieve his goal, but then those annoying human children had to go and interfere. Again.

What were they even doing here anyway? Why weren't they in their world where they belonged? And what was up with them turning into Digimon? Spirit Evolution they called it?

Twice now they had interfered. Well, they wouldn't be bothering him anymore. He would see them dead for daring to challenge him, even if it was done indirectly.

But how to do it? He had to admit that he was rather curious about them. Perhaps he should send some of his underlings after them. He would be able to observe them and learn more about them.

He wouldn't send anymore controlled by his black gears though. Not only did he not want to risk losing any more of them, but while affective, his gears had their flaws. While they did indeed allow him to control others, the ones he possessed were more or less reduced to violent zombies, hardly able to think for themselves beyond exactly what he ordered and their own instincts to attack. So, yes, if he was going to study these humans, he would send in a few minions that could actually think for themselves and make decisions.

With that in mind, he summoned his three servants. They came as he called, the groveling subordinates that they were. At least they knew their rightful place. It was just a shame that so many didn't understand the pecking order of things like these three.

"You summoned us, master," said the smallest of the three.

"Yes," he said. "As I am sure you are aware, there are a group of humans wandering around my island."

"Of course, master," the largest of the group replied. "It's quite a mystery."

"One I would like to solve," their master replied. "I want you to go find out what they're capable of. Especially the ones that can turn into Digimon."

"Yes, master," the third subordinate replied. "It will be our pleasure."

He smirked as the three took off. Would three humans with Digimon powers be able to stand up to them? It would be interesting to find out. Unless another one managed to Spirit Evolve, it should be three versus three. But if the humans proved to be too much for them…

"Well," he said with a wicked sneer, "I could always step in myself."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Shoutmon had volunteered for guard duty first. He should have woken up the next person for their shift, but decided not to. Besides, he wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. There was just too much on his mind.

The humans for one. It was quite an enigma. How had they come to be here, and why had that voice he heard told him to meet them on File Island? How had they even come to this world? What more, how did obtaining some DDNA allow them to turn into Digimon?

Even more concerning though were those black gears. They weren't normal gears. They were infused with an evil power that turned good Digimon bad. But they couldn't have just appeared out of nowhere. Someone must be behind them. Whoever they were, they had to be stopped.

Sighing loudly, he laid back and looked up at the starry sky. Even in the dead of night, the digital model of 'Earth' floated high overhead. He'd never thought much of it, aside from it being the source of the data streams, but he began to wonder if, perhaps, it was some clue about the Real World, and how his new friends came from it. Through one of those data streams perhaps?

He breathed deeply of the night air… and immediately gagged. His hand flew to his nose as a putrid odor assaulted his nostrils. "Blah! That's rancid! Who let one?"

A grumble came from behind him in response, and he whirled around, his eyes narrowing. Producing his mic, he approached the bushes, ready to strike in case it was an enemy.

"Who's there?" he demanded, holding out his mic. "If you're friendly, come out with your hands up. If not… well, come out with your hands up anyway."

There was another sound, this one directly behind him. He spun around and was immediately greeted by hideous sneering face.

Shoutmon gasped. "Vile-" he began, but was cut off as a pair of brown hands shot out of the bushes he had been investigating, pulling him inside.

The creature he had seen chuckled and turned to his companion. "We got him. Now to see to these humans."

His companion chuckled behind his mask. "Yes, lets see what they can do?"

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Perhaps it was waking up on a scheduled shift for the past couple of weeks, but Takuya woke up during the night near his shift. Rubbing his eyes. He noticed that Kari was asleep. She was meant to be on shift duty until it was his turn, and then Takato after him. Yet everyone was still asleep.

A smile crept up his face as he figured it out. "Shoutmon, that stubborn fool." It would be just like the little dragon Digimon to push himself like this, being the 'Digimon King' and all that. "Well, he certainly cares for his subjects."

Sitting up, he stretched his sore muscles. Sleeping on the ground wasn't exactly comfortable, yet they had been forced to do so after leaving Primary Village four days ago. The little village had been nice, or at least the parts that hadn't been destroyed, but they couldn't stay there forever, not if they wanted to find a way home.

"Hey, Shoutmon," he grumbled sleepily, "I'll take over watch."

He looked at the fire and gasped. Tending it was not the dragon Digimon, but a man dressed as a monk. He looked at him and Takuya saw that a mask was covering his face.

"So, you've finally awaken," the person noted.

Takuya was flabbergasted. "I, uh, I, um…"

The masked man cocked his head to the side. "Are you surprised to see another person? Quite understandable. I too am rather shocked to find other humans here. I thought I was the only one."

Takuya still had no words. Was there really another human here? This wouldn't be the first time this had happened. Last time it had been Fangmon pretending to be their loved ones.

That certainly wasn't the case this time. As far as he knew, he'd never seen this person before; though that could have been due to the mask. Did one of the others know him?

"Hey, guys, wake up," he said, shaking them away.

"Noooooooo," Davis groaned, "that's my piece of pizza."

"Wake up," he said more loudly, "there's another human here."

Takato rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Hmm, another human…?" he mumbled. When he noticed the mask man, he sat straight up, no longer sleepy. "Ahh! There is!"

The masked man raised a hand in greeting. "Hello."

"Wow, there really is!" Kari exclaimed.

Takuya looked at each of them. "So, just to be sure, none of you guys have seen this guy before?"

When they shook his head, he felt relieved. If it were another Fangmon trying to lure them into a trap, it wouldn't take the form of a complete stranger. Would it?

Tai seemed to be having similar thoughts. "Hey, you're not a Digimon, are you?"

The masked man just stared. "Do I look like a Digimon? I'm as human as they come."

Now awake, Davis pointed a finger at him. "What's with the mask then?"

A humorless chuckle escaped the masked man. "You must be relatively new to this world. There are many dangers, many ways to get hurt. A particular nasty incident left me terribly scarred, so I where a mask to hide it."

Davis' pointing finger slowly dropped. _'Oh, I'm such a jerk.'_

"So you can't Spirit Evolve then?" Takato asked.

The masked man cocked his head to the side. "I beg your pardon?"

Takato held out his Digivice. "You can't turn into a Digimon with one of these."

Leaning forward, the masked man examined the device. "Oh, very intriguing. May I see it?"

"Um, ok…"

He hesitantly handed it over, and the masked man looked at it. "Fascinating. I've never seen such a thing. But then again, I've never seen any other humans in this world before."

"How long have you been here?" TK asked.

The masked man closed his eyes. "Many, many years. I'd all but given up hope on seeing any humans ever again. I am certainly glad that I ran into you. Come, I will show you where I'm staying."

He turned, expecting them to follow. They began to when Takuya noticed something. He'd woken up and expected to find Shoutmon, but instead had found this man. If he was here, then where was their little friend?

"Hold up," he said. "Where's Shoutmon?"

The masked man hesitated before looking back at him. "Who?"

"Hey, yeah," said Tai, looking around. "Where'd he get to?"

The masked man waved his hand dismissively. "If you are referring to that small red Digimon, I sent him away. You don't need him anymore, now that I'm here. We humans should stick together. Besides, Digimon cannot be trusted." His hand went to his mask, stroking it. "It was a Digimon that did this to me."

The others looked sympathetic, but Takuya still had his suspicions. Exchanging a glance with Tai suggested that he did as well.

"I'm sorry about that," the older boy replied, "but not all Digimon are bad. We've met some really nice ones, and Shoutmon is our friend."

The masked man shook his head. "No, Digimon and humans can never be friends. That's why you should just trust me. I'll take care of you."

Takuya's eyes shifted down to Takato's Digivice in the masked man's hand, noticing how possessively he was grasping it. "Can my friend have his Digivice back now?"

If anything, the masked man's grip on it tightened and he remained silent. The others seemed to realize something strange was happening as well, and they looked at him suspiciously.

"Enough of this!" came a voice from the bushes, and something small yet nasty came hopping out. "They're on to us."

Behind him, a giant cockroach Digimon rose up, holding a bound and gagged Shoutmon in his arms. "Darn, and I thought we could drag this out a little longer."

He tossed Shoutmon to them. The surprised teens quickly rushed to untie him and remove his gag.

"Shoutmon, what's going on?" Takato asked. "Who are these guys?"

The dragon Digimon wiped his mouth. "Those two are Roachmon and Vilemon, real nasty fellows. I'm not sure who the masked guy is."

The masked man chuckled. "You humans are pathetic. You're so desperate to return to your world that you jumped at the first sign of human contact." He held up Takato's Digivice. "And now that I have this, you can't even defend yourselves."

Davis smirked. "That's where you're wrong, pal. We each have a Digivice. Look." They all held up theirs. "And guess what, that one doesn't even work yet."

The masked man looked at the Digivice in his hand. "Then this thing is worthless?"

He snarled angrily and threw it on the ground. Takato quickly went to get it back it as the two Digimon went to stand by the masked man's side.

"It seems our little game has come to an end," he told them as cracks began appearing over his mask. "Now it's time to take you out. And I don't mean out to dinner." His masked shattered and his body disintegrated, revealing a hideous ghost Digimon behind the disguise. "I told you Digimon couldn't be trusted."

The teens gasped, but Shoutmon just glared. "Bakemon. I should have known. Three different scumbags in one place."

"All three are at the Champion level!" Takato exclaimed, having retrieved his Digivice and getting a reading on them.

"Well, so are we," Tai replied. _"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Greymon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… ExVeemon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Agunimon!"_

"Ooh, goodie," said Vilemon, rubbing his hands together. "Time to play. I get the red one."

"And I got you, blue," Roachmon added.

Bakemon and Greymon stared at each other. "Guess that leaves the two of us."

"Fine with me. _Nova Blast!"_

Bakemon just sneered at the approaching fireball. _"Ghost Chop!"_

He vanished, and Greymon's attack hit nothing but air. Reappearing above the dinosaur Digimon's head, delivering a karate chop to the back of his head. Greymon grunted and stumbled forward. He turned to the ghost Digimon and fired another _Nova Blast_ , only to have him disappear again.

" _Poison Breath!"_ came a voice from behind him, and Greymon turned to have the ghost Digimon breathe a cloud of smoke in his face and began coughing as the poisonous mist seeped into his lungs, making him feel sick and weak. _"Evil Charm!"_

Greymon roared as he felt his energy being sapped while, up in the sky, Roachmon and ExVeemon exchanged blows in the air.

"Looks like your friend is having trouble," the cockroach Digimon told him as he swiped at ExVeemon.

"Don't worry about him," the dragon Digimon replied. "Worry more about yourself. _Vee-Laser!"_

Roachmon maneuvered around the attack. _"Garbage Dump!"_

Bits of trash one would expect to find at the dump flew out of his body. ExVeemon countered with his _Hearty Shatter_ attack. The fireballs burned up Roachmon's scattered garbage, surprising the cockroach Digimon as the burning pieces fell to the ground.

"Got you now!" ExVeemon cried, flying at his opponent and throwing a punch.

A grin crept up Roachmon's face and he snapped his fingers, unleashing his _Yard Sale Bomb_. Various objects appeared out of thin air above ExVeemon and came crashing down on him, bringing him to the ground and burying him beneath it all.

Roachmon flew down to the pile. Placing his hands on his hips, he sneered at it. "Ha! Looks like _I_ got _you._ "

ExVeemon came bursting out of the pile. "Yeah, now it's my turn. _Vee-Laser!"_

Roachmon held up his arms to defend himself, but was still blasted back. ExVeemon pounced on him, his jaws going for his neck with his _Critical Crunch_ attack. Roachmon's hands came up, grabbing at the dragon Digimon's head, holding him back. The two struggled on the ground, ExVeemon attempting to bite him, and Roachmon holding him back.

A distance away, Agunimon was having his own difficulties. Vilemon was small, but he was very fast. And as the fire wizard Digimon attempted to land a blow, the mini-devil Digimon would strike whenever he saw an opening.

" _Scratch Beat!"_ he cried, while avoiding another of Agunimon's punch.

The fire wizard Digimon grunted as the blades of air struck his shoulder. "Hold still, you little creep. _Pyro Darts!"_

Vilemon flew back, allowing the bits of fire to fly over him. "What's wrong? Can't keep up? _Scratch Beat!"_

Agunimon held up an arm to shield his face against the attack. "You may be quick, but once I get my hands on you, you'll be sorry. _Pyro Punch!"_

The mini-devil Digimon yelped as a fiery dragon flew from Agunimon's fist. With some fancy aerial movements, he maneuvered around the attack, and flew at Agunimon again. The fire wizard Digimon threw a punch, which Vilemon leapt over in mid-air as if he were playing a game of leapfrog.

"Now try this. _Nightmare Shock!"_

He unleashed a shockwave that flowed over his opponent. Horrific visions assaulted Agunimon's vision, making him feel as if he were trapped in a nightmare.

"Now take this. _Scratch Beat! Scratch Beat!"_

The blades of wind struck Agunimon, and he growled in frustration. "That does it! _Pyro Tornado!"_

Spinning around and kicking, he conjured up a fiery tornado. It formed around him and the mini-devil Digimon, the flames flowing over Vilemon, leaving him blacked and burned.

A puff of smoke escaped the mini-devil Digimon as he exhaled. "That smarts."

"Then try this!" Agunimon cried, balling his fists and bringing them down on him. Vilemon slammed into the ground, and Agunimon brought his foot down on him, pinning the mini-devil Digimon to the ground. "Stay down."

"Sure… no problem…"

Amidst the battle with Greymon and Bakemon, the dinosaur Digimon spared his friends a glance. "Looks like your friends are down for the count."

Bakemon just sneered. "Down, perhaps, but not out. I'll go to them just as soon as I finish with you. _Dark Claw!"_

From out of his sleeve, an extendable claw shot out. It grasped one of Greymon's horns, pulling him towards the dinosaur Digimon. His other claw shot, grabbing Greymon's other horn, allowing him to hitch a ride on his head.

Greymon roared, shaking his head furiously. Bakemon just laughed and held on tighter. _"Evil Charm!"_

More of Greymon's energy was painfully sucked away. He let out an angry snarl and charged at a tree, his head lowered. _"Great Horn Attack!"_

The ghost Digimon just grinned and disappeared from his head at the last moment, serving only to give Greymon a headache for his troubles. A moment later, he reappeared on his head again. "That was fun. Care to try again?"

"Try this," Greymon growled. _"Fire Horn!"_

Bakemon cried out as the dinosaur Digimon's horns burst into flames and he quickly let go, his claws retracting up into his sleeves again.

" _Tail Crash!"_

Greymon's tail came up, slamming into him, and Bakemon crashed into a tree. He gave the dinosaur Digimon a hateful glare and raised his arms. "Now you'll be sorry! _Nightmare Wave!"_

Energy waves that endorsed doubt and insanity flowed outward. Greymon winced as the first one flowed over him, and he took a step back when he was hit by a second. The third brought forth a concern for the outcome of this battle, while the fourth made him wonder if there would be an even tougher battle after this one.

With each passing wave, more and more doubt and worries assaulted him. What if they never found a way home? What if they were stuck in this world forever? What would he do if they ran into an enemy that was too strong for them? What if he couldn't protect his friends and sister? What if they all ended up dead? What if? What if? What if?

The fear and doubt continued to grow and pile up, quickly giving way to paranoia. Greymon grabbed at his head as countless worst-case scenarios overwhelmed him. He felt like he was going crazy, and began to hyperventilate.

"Don't worry," said Bakemon as he flew towards him, his claws extended, "I'll put your fears to rest."

Greymon's eyes snapped open, and he glared at the ghost Digimon. "Enough!" he roared, unleashing a _Nova Blast._

Bakemon saw the giant fireball coming and tried to stop his momentum. He began flying backwards, but not fast enough to avoid the attack. He cried out as it exploded against him and his body burst into data.

Roachmon and Vilemon stopped struggling. They stared at the place Bakemon had been, watching as his data lingered before Shoutmon ran over to absorb it.

"He destroyed Bakemon," Roachmon replied, pointing out the obvious. "He completely vaporized him."

Greymon turned to them. "That's right, and the two of you will be next unless you surrender right now."

The two Digimon held up their hands. "We surrender!"

ExVeemon smirked, "Good," he replied, climbing off the cockroach Digimon, but still keeping him pinned down. "Now, we've got some questions for the two of you, and you better give us some answers."

"Anything!" the chorused.

From up above, a powerful voice echoed around them. "How utterly pathetic. I should have known better than to send you fools."

Blending in with the night sky, a dark and foreboding figure flew down. It settled on a treetop, surveying the scene below. This creature had a humanoid appearance with long legs and even longer arms that nearly touched its feet. Dressed almost completely in black, it bore a red mark on its chest that stood out against its dark figure. Long horns sprouted from the side of its head, and its overly large wings were so full of holes that it shouldn't have been capable of flight.

The color drained from Roachmon and Vilemon's faces as they stared at this menacing figure. "Lord Devimon!"

"Devimon…?" TK repeated.

Shoutmon's fists clenched as he glared at the bat-like humanoid Digimon. "Devimon."

The demonic creature raised its arms. "Yes, I am Devimon, a fallen angel Digimon of the Champion level whose evil knows no bounds. My _Touch of Evil_ gives me the power to infect my will upon others, and my _Evil Wing_ attack unleashes masses amounts of energy to decimate my foes." His red eyes narrowed at those below him. "You poor fools now have the misfortune of facing my wrath!"

"All hail Devimon!" the two minions chanted.

Agunimon pointed at him. "I don't know who you are, but we've got no quarrel with you. Just leave now, and no one has to get hurt."

Devimon laughed, a truly evil laugh that exposed his fangs. "But I have business with you. You miserable humans are interfering with my takeover of this island, most specifically Primary Village."

"Take over?" Takato repeated, and suddenly everything clicked. "Wait, you're the one behind the black gears, aren't you?"

The fallen angel Digimon grinned. "Very good, little boy. Yes, it was I. I've discovered the secret of the black gears within this island. I extracted them and filled them with my will using my _Touch of Evil,_ and now I use them to enslave the pitiful creatures of this world."

Shoutmon growled. "So they are the island's gears. I wondered if they were."

Kari looked at him. "What island gears?"

Shoutmon tapped the ground with his foot. "This island. Primary Village is here so the newly born Digimon can develop away from the rest of the world. But once they're strong enough, they need to get back to the mainland. Certain sections of File Island are capable of separating from it to provide transportation to different places in the Digital World. These sections have black gears inside them that allow them to function." He pointed at Devimon accusingly. "And this guy's been using them for his own wicked deeds!"

Devimon took a bow. "Why, thank you. Wicked deeds are what I do best. My goal is to take over this island, especially Primary Village, so that I may influence all the reborn Digimon into taking Dark Digivolution paths and accepting me as their new ruler."

"Like we would let that happen," ExVeemon snarled.

"Lets get him, guys!" said Greymon.

Ignoring Roachmon and Vilemon, they charged at Devimon. The fallen angel Digimon just grinned as they came towards him and spread his wings. _"Evil Wing!"_

Masses of energy flew from his wings, blasting the two of them back. Greymon went flying a good distance and came crashing down as the dragon Digimon dropped from the sky.

"Greymon! ExVeemon!" Agunimon cried. He glared at Devimon. "Take this. _Pyro Punch!"_

The fiery dragon that flew out of his fist soared at Devimon. He just chuckled evilly and leapt off the tree, flying over the attack as the tree burst into flames. Flying towards Agunimon, his long arm shot out. _"Deadly Nail!"_

The fire wizard Digimon cried out as Devimon's claws wracked across his chest, scratching straight through his armor. As he grabbed at his chest, Devimon came down behind him and shot his hand outward, spearing into Agunimon's back with his _Death Claw_ attack, lifting him into the air.

Greymon shook his head to get rid of the disorientation. "What was that?" he looked back at Devimon and saw him with his friend. "Agunimon!"

Jumping to his feet, he ignited his horns with his _Fire Horn_ attack and charged, head lowered. Devimon turned to him, grinning once more as he held up his other hand.

" _Dark Contract!"_ he cried, and a black cloud of cursed energy appeared around him and spread outward, hiding both him and Agunimon with an evil black fog.

Greymon came to a halt as the cloud flowed over him. The flames on his horns went out as he felt the cloud begin to rapidly drain his energy.

Devimon took to the air, still carrying Agunimon. Unlike his opponents, he could see in the cloud just fine, and he threw the fire wizard Digimon down onto Greymon, knocking him to the ground.

With an evil chuckle, his red gaze shifted to ExVeemon, who was just now getting to his feet. A sinister smile crept up his face, and he flew towards the dragon Digimon.

ExVeemon rubbed his head, trying to get his bearings. "Boy, that's one doozy of an attack."

He turned to look at the battle, and immediately felt a hand wrap around his neck. He was lifted off the ground by an iron grip, sputtering and gasping as he clawed at his throat.

"I shouldn't be wasting my time on you insects," Devimon told him. "I can make you destroy yourselves. _Touch of Evil!"_

Something was wrong. ExVeemon could feel it. Something dark and menacing was invading his mind, turning his heart black. Whatever it was, it demanded his absolute obedience and submission.

The dark cloud finally began to fade away. Greymon and Agunimon were on their feet, but they both felt woozy. As their line of vision cleared, they saw ExVeemon with his back to them, facing Devimon.

"Hang on, ExVeemon," Greymon told him, starting over to him. "We're on our way."

ExVeemon turned to face them, but something wasn't right. He looked hostile, and posed to strike. Not at Devimon though, but at them. And it was only then that they noticed that his eyes were entirely white.

"ExVeemon…?" Agunimon whispered. His face twisted with fury. "What did you do to him, Devimon?"

The fallen angel Digimon laughed. "I've infected him with my _Touch of Evil._ It allows me to hijack another's mind and force my will upon them in a much more affective way than with the black gears alone." He pointed at them. "Now, ExVeemon, destroy them!"

The teens didn't want to believe his words, yet they were forced to accept the truth as ExVeemon fired upon them. Greymon turned to the side as the _Vee-Laser_ slammed against him, Devimon laughing all the while.

"It seems you have your hands full," he said as he spread his wings and took to the air. "I'll leave you to it."

With that, he disappeared into the night sky towards the large mountain in the distance.

 **(A/N: Devimon has revealed himself, but I'm sure everyone saw him coming. I threw in a theory I had in there about the black gears' original purpose before Devimon got his hands on them. Remember how he separated the different sections of File Island, and the DigiDestined found a bunch of black gears inside one of the sections. It was never explained why they were there, but when the gears started going backwards, the section returned to the island. I think that's their purpose, to split apart sections of the island to transport the Digimon that were born in Primary Village to different parts of the world. But enough on that. Devimon has come out into the open, ExVeemon is possessed, and there's still Roachmon and Vilemon to worry about. What will happen next? Find out next week.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _DOT _**in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Roachmon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Vilemon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Bakemon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Devimon**


	13. Chapter 13: Separated

**(A/N: I had someone ask me if Davis was wearing his own goggles or Tai's goggles. LOL. Well, the way I envision in this story, he has the goggles he was wearing before he broke them and Tai gave them his in the anime. Tai's got his own pair, as does Takato and Takuya. I guess I didn't explain that well in the first chapter since I kind of made a joke out of it.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 13: Separated**

"ExVeemon, don't do this!" Greymon begged as his friend fired upon him again.

If the dragon Digimon even heard him, he ignored his pleas as he charged at them. Agunimon leapt away as ExVeemon threw a punch at him, and Greymon quickly blocked against another _Vee-Laser_.

"It's no good," said Takato. "He's just like those other Digimon that are controlled by the black gears."

"Yeah, but this time there's no black gear to destroy," TK added. "So how do we return him to normal?"

They looked to Shoutmon for answers. When he realized they were staring at him, he held up his arms. "Uh, remind him of the good times, maybe? How should I know? I never witnessed Devimon's _Touch of Evil."_

' _Remind him of the good times?'_ Kari thought. _'Or maybe_ something _to remind of the good times.'_

A determine look crossed her face as she ran out onto the battlefield, ignoring her friends' cries. TK attempted to go after her, but Shoutmon leapt onto his back, knocking him down to keep him from following. "You wanna get killed? And, Kari, get back here!"

She ignored him. She had a plan. It felt cheap and shallow, but if it worked, then it would be worth it. She knew that Davis had a not-so-secret crush on her. It was completely one-sided, but she hoped that perhaps his feelings for her would help him break the spell he was under.

"ExVeemon, stop it!" she shouted, putting herself in between him and the other two. "You're being controlled! You have to fight it!"

"Kari!" Greymon growled. "Get out of there! He's not himself! He'll kill you!"

But she refused to back down. "Don't you even recognize me? It's me, Kari! You have to wake up! Davis!"

There was no recognition, no acknowledgement of any kind, nor was there any hesitation on his part as he fired his _Vee-Laser_ at her.

The attack went off course as Agunimon tackled him, wrestling the dragon Digimon to the ground. Greymon roared and charged forward to help, placing himself between his sister and their possessed friend.

"Stop it, you guys!" she shouted. "This is exactly what Devimon wants!"

"Kari, look out!" TK shouted from behind her.

She turned and caught a flash of Roachmon flying towards her before she was snatched up. She screamed as she was lifted into the air, and was quickly joined by Shoutmon, who leapt after them, grabbing onto Roachmon's leg.

"Kari!" TK yelled, running after them.

"Let her go!" cried Takato, following close behind.

Greymon paused in his struggle against ExVeemon to look up at them. "Darn you, Roachmon, let go of my sister!"

He was sucker-punched in the jaw by ExVeemon due to his distraction.

Quickly joining his companion in the sky, Vilemon laughed mockingly down at them. "Ha, ha! Now we have your friends!"

Agunimon leapt up onto Greymon's head and then jumped at them. Vilemon yelped and avoided the _Pyro Darts_ aimed at him. Kari and Shoutmon were too far away to get to as Roachmon carried them away.

They lost sight of their friends the further away they were carried. Kari's struggles proved to be futile while all Shoutmon could do was hold on.

"Let us down, you big creep!" the former demanded. "What are you going to do to us?"

Vilemon flew over to her and began poking her mockingly with his claw. "We heard you were trying to get to the ocean, so we're going to help you out a bit."

"Don't do us any favors," Shoutmon growled.

Roachmon just snickered. "Really, it's no trouble at all."

They soon came to a cliff that overlooked the ocean. As it turned out, they hadn't been all that far away from it, only a couple miles. Roachmon hovered in the air over the cliff, where down below the waves slammed against the side of it rather roughly.

"Here we are," the cockroach Digimon taunted. "Time to go for a dip. Be mindful of the rocks, and happy landings. Look out below!"

He dropped her, and Kari fell down towards the rough waters. Shoutmon released his hold on Roachmon's leg and fell with her, the two plummeting towards the ocean and splashing beneath the surface.

"Good luck to you, chumps!" Vilemon shouted down at them, and he and Roachmon flew off laughing.

It had indeed been a close call. While underwater, they could see all the rocks around them that they had been very fortunate enough not to fall on. Kari kicked with all her might and broke the surface, but was immediately greeted by the rough waves that threatened to smash her against the cliff.

Shoutmon swam over to her, grabbing hold and helping her to stay afloat as they made their way to shore. Kari was actually a very good swimmer, but the waves combined with the current were very rough, and she was grateful for the help.

They finally reached the beach and collapsed on the sand, both spent. Shoutmon was lying on his back with his arms spread, huffing and puffing. "I swear… _pant_ … I'm going to… _pant_ … kill those two…"

Kari was breathing just as heavily, but forced herself to stand up. "There's no time. We need to get back to the others, and turn Davis back to normal."

"Right," Shoutmon grumbled. "Well, good luck with that."

"Shoutmon!"

He groaned. "Oh, fine. I'm getting up, I'm getting up." He struggled to sit up, but quickly collapsed again. "Can't, too tired."

Kari sighed. "Come on, I thought you were the Digimon King."

"Kings get tired and hungry too, and I'm starving. I'm so hungry I can smell food." He sniffed the air again. "Hey, I really _can_ smell food."

Belittling his words of having no energy, he hopped to his feet and took off, following his nose. He came to the source a short ways down the beach, finding several speared fish roasting over an open fire.

"Hey, fish! Awesome!"

Snatching one, he immediately dug in with no mind as to whom they might belong to.

Kari joined him shortly. "Shoutmon, those don't belong to you."

He waved the stick at her. "I'm the Digimon King, I'm entitled to some food when I need it. And whoever caught these should have known better than to just leave them here unattended where anyone could get to them. Besides," he took another bite, "don't you want me to help the others? I need to keep up my strength for that."

She hated to admit it, but he was right. That still didn't stop her from feeling guilty for stealing someone else's dinner, or late night snack, or whatever. "Fine, just please hurry, we need to get back."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm eating. Oh, this one is extra crispy!"

"Yes, I like them that way."

Shoutmon stopped mid-chew and turned. Waltzing over to them, carrying an armful of fish, was a small reptile-like Digimon. Kari couldn't help but notice that this Digimon looked just like the image of Agumon that appeared on Tai's Digivice, only this one was black instead of yellow-orange.

Gulping down his mouthful, Shoutmon took a nervous step back. "A-Are these your? So sorry, didn't know. My humble apologies. We'll just be on our way. Come on, Kari."

He grabbed her hand and began to pull her along, hoping that would be the end of it.

"Hold it!" the dinosaur Digimon snapped, causing Kari and Shoutmon to freeze. He walked over to his fire pit, tossing his most recent catch aside. "You ate three of my fish. I caught those for me. Nobody steals from BlackAgumon."

"I told you not to eat them," Kari scolded Shoutmon. She gave the dinosaur Digimon an apologetic bow. "I'm very sorry for my friend. He was very rude. I promise we'll make it up to you."

"Yes," BlackAgumon said, taking one of the remaining fish on the stick and sticking it directly into the flames so it would catch fire, "you will." He turned to them, holding the burning fish on the stick. "I think your data will be a sufficient exchange."

"What…?" Shoutmon stammered.

BlackAgumon threw the burning stick at them. Shoutmon leapt back as it stabbed into the sand. He looked back at BlackAgumon, who opened his mouth and spat a fireball. _"Baby Breath!"_

The dragon Digimon jumped out of the fireball's path, only to have it explode when it hit the ground. BlackAgumon charged at them, firing more _Baby Breath_ fireballs as he ran.

"Time to go!" Shoutmon exclaimed, and made a run for it, Kari close behind as fireballs flew past them.

"Do something!" Kari cried, feeling a sense of déjà vu from when they ran from Impmon and his fireballs.

"I am," Shoutmon replied. "I'm running!"

"I meant fight back! What is he, a Rookie?"

"A powerful Rookie, and a real mean one at that." He growled. "You know, this is just my luck. Of all the species of Agumon out there, why did I have to run in to his kind? Why not an original Agumon, or SnowAgumon, ToyAgumon, LightToyAgumon, SantaAgumon, ExtraAgumon, DotAgumon, ClearAgumon, or even BushiAgumon or Agumon Hakase. Heck, I'd take BigAgumon or NiseAgumon at this point."

"That's a lot of Agumon," Kari replied, flinching as a fireball exploded a little too close.

"That's my point. There's also a ShadowToyAgumon, but still, that's only two dark forms out of all of them. Why'd we have to get stuck with running from one of them?"

"Because you ate his fish. Ahh!"

She tripped and fell forward. BlackAgumon's eyes narrowed and he fire another _Baby Breath_ at her. Sensing it coming, Kari covered her head and braced herself for it.

"Kari!" Shoutmon cried, skidding to a halt and running back to her. He jumped over her fallen form and took aim at the oncoming attack. _"Fiery Fastball!"_

The two fireballs exploded against each other. BlackAgumon came to a stop, waiting for the smoke to clear. Shoutmon did the same, and they both stared each other down as the black cloud faded.

"So, you're not a complete coward," the dinosaur Digimon commented.

Shoutmon glared. "I was just making a strategic withdraw. There's nothing cowardly about that. Especially since I'm low on energy from hunger, lack of sleep, and swimming."

"Good to know. But you're a fool to face me in such a condition, and you should never tell your enemy of you weakness."

Shoutmon produced his microphone. "Yeah, that was a bad call."

"Shoutmon…" Kari said worriedly.

"Don't worry about me," he told her. "Just get back to the others."

BlackAgumon's eyes narrowed. "No one is going anywhere. _Body Blow!"_

He moved to tackle Shoutmon. The dragon Digimon charged at him, swinging his mic. He aimed for BlackAgumon's legs, tripping him, and the dinosaur Digimon skidded in the sand in front of Kari. He looked up at her, seeing her watching him, and growled.

"What are you looking at? _Baby Flame!"_

She scrambled back as a stream of fire flew at her. "Stop it! Why are you doing this? It was wrong of Shoutmon to eat your food, but it was only a few fish. I think you're overreacting."

"I'll show you overreacting. _Baby Br-"_

Shoutmon leapt onto his back, pulling the length of his microphone against BlackAgumon's throat. "Get away from her!"

BlackAgumon elbowed him in the gut, knocking him off his back, then turned around and cried, _"Mach Jab Combo!"_

Continuous punches paddled against the dragon Digimon, knocking him further and further back. He finished it up with his _Uppercut_ attack, sending Shoutmon flying backwards.

"This will finish it," he growled. _"Spitfire!"_

He opened his mouth, generating a fireball. The power built up, causing the fireball to grow until it was nearly as big as he was, his face turning redder and redder. Then he spat the full blast at the dragon Digimon.

Gripping his microphone, Shoutmon jumped to his feet. _"Bellow Blaster!"_

The wave of energy slammed into BlackAgumon's attack. It proved to be the stronger of the two, and the resounding blast went in BlackAgumon's direction, sending the dinosaur Digimon flying backwards.

Kari rolled to the side as BlackAgumon bounced back a few times before skidding to a halt. He laid unmoving for a few seconds before climbing to his feet. Turning back to them, his eyes burned with anger.

"Now you've done it," he growled. "I was going to make your deaths quick and clean, but now you've really gone and pissed me off."

Kari went over to Shoutmon, who held out his mic at BlackAgumon threateningly. "Don't make this any harder for either of us. Just walk away."

"Be the bigger man," Kari tried. "Or mon. Be the bigger mon."

The dinosaur Digimon regarded them for a few moments. "You expect me to just walk away? Never. I do like the idea of being the bigger mon though. I think I'll do that."

He raised his arms as light engulfed his body. _"BlackAgumon Digivolve to… BlackGreymon!"_

The light faded, and BlackAgumon now stood at the Champion level in his Digivolved form. Kari's eyes widened as she witnessed Digivolution for the first time. She'd seen her brother and friends Spirit Evolve, and had witnessed a few Digimon Slide Evolution between their dark and light forms, but she had never actually seen one Digivolve. The difference between BlackAgumon and BlackGreymon was astounding.

He resembled her brother's Digimon form, but she figured that this was only natural since they were both of the Greymon species. There were distinct differences though. Rather than being orange with blue stripes, he was dark blue with black stripes. His headgear was black instead of brown and shaped differently, the horn coming out of its nose resembling the blade of a knife, and a metal headband connecting from the horn on one side of his head to the other. With the addition of a few extra spikes on his knees, he also possessed a blade that could double as an axe at the end of his tail.

For some reason, Kari felt a bit of resentment towards this dark version of Greymon, as if he were an insult to her brother's Digimon form. She briefly wondered if this was due to the opposing forces of light and darkness. Or maybe she just didn't like the fact that a Digimon of the same species of her brother was trying to kill her.

"Let me guess," she said to Shoutmon, not taking her eyes off this much greater threat, "we're going to start running again, right?"

"It would be a good idea," the dragon Digimon agreed.

" _Mega Flame!"_ BlackGreymon roared, unleashing a dark version of Greymon's _Nova Blast_.

"Go, go, go, go!" Shoutmon cried.

Kari was already on the move, having made a run for it the moment BlackGreymon had attacked. The dinosaur Digimon roared and chased after them, his heavy footsteps causing the ground to shake. He bent down as he ran to strike them with his knife-like horn, covering the distance between them quickly.

" _Fiery Fastball!"_ Shoutmon cried, whirling around to attack.

His fireball simply bounced off BlackGreymon's headgear, and he kept coming. Shoutmon jumped up before he was rammed and came down slamming his mic on BlackGreymon's back. The only thing this accomplished was to bend his mic.

"Aww," he groaned. "That's going to take me forever to fix."

"Fix this!" BlackGreymon snarled. _"Atomic Tail!"_

He swung his tail, slamming it into the dragon Digimon, the blade at the end slicing into his arm as it dragged across his body. Shoutmon went flying backwards, knocking up a wall of sand with the force he skidded across the ground.

Groaning, he forced himself to sit up, his hand going to his wounded arm. "Ok, that really hurt."

"What are you doing?" Kari demanded, grabbing his tail and pulling him along. "Come on, there's an inlet up ahead. We'll cross."

She was hoping that BlackGreymon wouldn't be able to swim. He seemed to be based off a T-Rex, and from what she knew about that particular dinosaur, it couldn't swim. True, BlackGreymon had much better arms than the scrawny limbs the extinct king of lizards possessed, but she didn't have any other ideas.

"Hold on," she told the dragon Digimon, "we're going for a swim."

" _Mega Flame!"_

Kari made a jump for it, taking Shoutmon with her. She felt the heat from the large fireball right behind her just as her body hit the water, and the attack blasted against the surface. She stayed under as she swam in case any more fireballs were launched at her. When she couldn't hold her breath anymore, she broke the surface.

Shoutmon spat out a mouthful of water and began coughing. "Thanks for the half a second warning," he muttered sarcastically.

"Sorry," she told him. "At least we're safe now."

"How do you figure that?"

She looked back at the dinosaur Digimon and watched as BlackGreymon leapt right into the water without the slightest hesitation. So much for her theory that he couldn't swim.

"Hurry, swim," she said, quickly outpacing the dragon Digimon.

But there was no escaping BlackGreymon as he quickly closed the gap between them. Kari and Shoutmon made it to the other side and quickly scrambled out of the water as BlackGreymon approached.

"Say your prayers," he growled, the inside of his mouth lighting up with fire.

Something big and dark moved through the water, hidden beneath the surface. As BlackGreymon opened his mouth to unleash his _Mega Flame_ , the dark figure came up beneath him. The dinosaur Digimon cried out in surprise, his attack going off course as he was suddenly pulled under.

The water went still. Kari and Shoutmon stared at the spot BlackGreymon had disappeared, uneasy.

"W-What happened to him?" Kari stammered.

Shoutmon shook his head. "Not sure, but I'm glad we weren't in the water when it did."

A few bubbles rose to the surface, followed soon by the area darkening as something came up. A moment later, the water exploded, and a giant eel-like Digimon rose up with BlackGreymon wrapped up by its serpentine body, struggling to get free.

"Seadramon!" Shoutmon shouted.

"Who?" Kari asked.

He ignored the question as he pushed against her. "Get moving! Head for the trees!"

Noting the worry in his voice, she followed his command. The sea animal Digimon, Seadramon, glanced at their retreating forms before firing its _Ice Blast_ attack. It missed as they ran into the trees, using them as a barrier as the attack covered everything in ice.

Whether unable or unwilling, Seadramon did not pursue them as it turned its attention back to BlackGreymon, who had just now chomped down on its body. With a roar, it tightened its hold on him dove under, the dinosaur Digimon struggling all the while.

Kari and Shoutmon kept running until they couldn't hear the waves crashing against the shore anymore. Finally pausing for a break, they struggled to catch their breath.

"Close call," Shoutmon wheezed. "We got lucky."

"Lucky how?" Kari asked as she leaned against a tree.

"Lucky Seadramon can't come on land. Lucky he didn't grab us while we were swimming. Lucky he nabbed BlackGreymon. Lucky his attack missed. Shall I go on?"

Kari couldn't resist chuckling. "Ok, so we got lucky." She looked around. "Think we'll be lucky enough to get back to the others."

"Hmm…" Shoutmon mumbled, looking around as well. "Let me get a better look."

He hopped into a tree and began climbing. Popping his head out of the treetop, he scanned the horizon.

"Do you see anything?" Kari called up to him.

"No, nothing. We can't be too far though; Roachmon couldn't have flown us more than a couple miles."

He continued looking over the sea of green. From up here, he could hear the wind blowing. Yet above the wind, he could hear something else, something cutting through the wind's howling. It was coming up behind him, and getting closer.

His mic appeared in his hand, and he spun around, swinging it. There was a loud _crack_ as he struck the black gear that had nearly hit him, followed by the sound if it bursting into data.

A smirk lit up his face, and he placed his hands on his hips. "Ha! As if Devimon could possess me."

The words barely left his mouth before he was hit from behind. The second black gear had struck, and was now sticking out of his back. His eyes widened in shock and pain, and he dropped down from the treetop, crashing through branches until he hit the ground.

"Shoutmon!" Kari cried, rushing to his side.

Before she reached him, his eyes snapped open, and he threw his mic at her, stopping her. "Stay away from me!"

She blinked. "What?"

"Keep away," he growled, feeling the darkness infecting him and the pain from the gear making him more susceptible to its manipulation. "Run away, quick!"

Instead, she began to approach him again. "But, Shoutmon-"

"Stay away!" he bellowed, grasping his head as he turned away from her.

Now she saw it, the black gear sticking out of his back, and her eyes widened in horror. "No, please no."

"I can't fight it!" he snarled as his body began glowing. _"Shoutmon Slide Evolution… BlackShoutmon!"_

 **(A/N: Things just keep getting worse. Not only is ExVeemon possessed, but now Shoutmon is too. And Kari's all alone with him. After a narrow escape from BlackGreymon, her only remaining friend has fallen prey to Devimon. By the way, I altered BlackGreymon's appearance a little bit. The true Greymon is just a black version of Greymon as he appeared up until the 6th Season, and since Season 6 changed Greymon's appearance, I made BlackGreymon have that appearance rather than simply being a different colored Greymon for more variation.** **In case you were wondering though,** **Tai's Greymon form is the original one from Season 1. So, with that said, I'll be back next week with the next chapter. Hope to see you then** **.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the _DOT_ in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/BlackAgumon**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/BlackGreymon**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/** **Greymon#Greymon_.282010_anime.29**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Shoutmon_B**


	14. Chapter 14: The Angel of Light

**(A/N: Seems I got a lot of you anxious with last chapter's cliffhanger. Understandable. ExVeemon is under Devimon's control and his fighting his friends while Kari is lost and alone with Shoutmon who is now under the control of a black gear. That's some trouble with a capital T. One last thing, there's some important info in the _Author's Note_ at the end, so be sure to read it. But before we begin, since today is Veteran's Day, I'd like to take a moment to give the respect due to all those who fought for us, including my grandfather, God rest his soul. And for all those that have friends or family in the army, my prayers go to them and to you. I pray they return safely.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 14: The Angel of Light**

He had told them about Dark Digivolution. It was when good Digimon Digivolved into dark alternate versions of themselves. In most cases, their names held the title 'Dark', 'Black', or 'Shadow'. BlackAgumon and his Digivolution were prime examples of this. There were other dark titles, such as the 'Vi' in ViElecmon to symbolize his evil form, but most bore those common three.

And now, here stood BlackShoutmon, the dark version of her Digimon friend. His appearance had changed slightly, for he now looked a little younger and less battle hardened, and he lacked his yellow scarf, but the most significant change was his flashy red color had turned black, the dark color symbolizing the darkness within. And with the way he was looking at her, he was about to unleash his wicked nature upon her.

"N-Now Shoutmon," she stammered, deliberately calling him by his original name in the hopes to get through to him, "it's me, Kari. We're friends, right?"

BlackShoutmon snarled and leapt at her, swinging his mic. _"Rowdy Rocker!"_

It was a dark version of his _Rock and Roller_ attack, and she leapt out of the way to avoid it. The ground cracked where his mic struck.

"Shoutmon!" she cried desperately.

" _Rock Spirit!"_

She ducked as she felt the heat from the fireball fly over her head, and the tree behind her burst into flames. That was twice in less than thirty seconds that he tried to kill her, and it looked like he was about to try again.

"Forgive me, Shoutmon!" she cried as she ran into the trees. "I promise I'll bring back help!"

But BlackShoutmon wasn't about to let her get away. As she ran, she could hear him leaping through the trees after her, occasionally throwing another _Rock Spirit_ fireball.

At one point, he leapt onto her back, placing the length of his mic against her throat and began pulling. Kari struggled to breathe, but wasn't strong enough to throw him off. She compensated by running backwards and slamming into a tree. BlackShoutmon grunted and dropped his mic as he fell off her back. She kicked the weapon away and made a run for it.

BlackShoutmon growled and retrieved his mic before charging after her. Unknowingly, he came up to the tree she was hiding behind, and she released the branch she had bent backwards. It slammed into the dragon Digimon, sending him flying backwards.

Dazed, he sat up, rubbing his head. It was nothing compared to the pain of the gear in his back, and the driving force behind it urged him on with the promise of more pain if he refused and the hope that the agony would lessen if he didn't. With the darkness clouding his senses, he gave into the wicked demands and resumed his chase.

He ended up running past her new hiding place, and Kari breathed a sigh of relief. She looked in the direction her Digimon friend disappeared in with a sympathetic look on her face. She couldn't imagine what it must be like to be controlled by those black gears, nor did she want to.

With a shiver, she also realized that ExVeemon must be going through something similar. What must it be like to be controlled like that? Was he fully aware, but was a prisoner within his own body? Had his mind and personality gone dormant and he had no idea what was going on? Did his feelings and nature get warped and twisted to the point that he actually knew what he was doing and wanted it? Whatever the case, it was too horrible to imagine.

"I have to get back," she said out loud.

"Oh, don't leave on my account."

She gasped as the large form of BlackGreymon came crashing through the trees, dripping wet and looking furious. How had he escaped from Seadramon? That giant sea serpent had been enormous and had had the dinosaur Digimon completely at its mercy.

BlackGreymon's eyes narrowed. "Surprised? Well, so am I. I never would have thought that the little thieves that stole my dinner would cause me so much trouble."

"That wasn't even me," she cried, feeling guilty for somewhat selling out her friend. But he wasn't even here, and she was the one in danger right now. "And Shoutmon is gone. I already apologized on his behalf. Haven't you ever heard of forgive and forget?"

"I'll forgive you once you're dead. _Atomic Tail!"_

Kari briefly wondered if death and killing was seen in a different light with Digimon since they were just reborn again, but didn't have time to dwell on it before BlackGreymon's massive tail came swinging at her. She dropped to her stomach and covered her head as the trees all around her were knocked over from the attack.

BlackGreymon growled and began rummaging through the destroyed vegetation, tossing trees and branches aside as he searched for her. She used the destruction for cover as she crawled across the ground beneath the leaves and sticks all around her, making her way behind him.

"You can't hide from me," he growled as she reached what she felt was a reasonably safe distance where she could use the trees that were still standing for cover.

With an irritated growl, he stopped searching and stood up straight. He began sniffing the air, breathing in deeply before his head snapped in her direction. "There you are!"

She yelped, and the chase began again. This was beginning to get old. It felt like all she did ever since she came to this world was rely on others and run away. How much longer would she be running?

Apparently, not very long, because she soon came face to face with BlackShoutmon blocking her path. He gripped his mic tightly, staring at her with hostility.

Behind her, BlackGreymon came crashing through the trees. He stopped as he saw the two of them, noting the hostility in BlackShoutmon towards her. "So, it looks as if your little friend has gone dark and decided to betray you. Does he think I'll forgive him if he sacrifices you to me? Well, he's wrong, but I'll be happy to accept his offer. _Mega Flame!"_

" _Soul Crusher!"_ BlackShoutmon cried, unleashing dark energy from his mic.

The attacks came from in front and behind. There was no avoiding them, and she covered her face for whatever protection it would offer. The two attacks collided together and exploded with her caught in the middle.

BlackGreymon gave a satisfied bark of laughter. "Serves her right. That will teach her not to mess with her betters." He turned his attention to BlackShoutmon. "Don't think that just because you've gone dark that you'll be spared. Now it's your turn to…"

He trailed off as a light shined from within the cloud of smoke, growing brighter. As the smoke dissipated, the human girl was revealed to be unharmed, the light surrounding her seeming to act as a barrier.

"What's this?" he growled.

Kari finally risked a peak, lowering her hands when she saw that she was still alive. "This light…"

She reached into her pocket, taking out the source of the light. Her Digivice shined brightly, the image of Salamon on the screen changing to another, followed by a familiar phrase written across it.

"What's going on here?" the dinosaur Digimon demanded.

Kari looked up at him, her eyes determine. "Now it's my turn." She held up her Digivice. _"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Nefertimon!"_

The light faded, and Kari now stood as the holy beast Digimon, Nefertimon. Resembling a sphinx, she stood on four legs, yet she felt the power in her mighty wings that gave her the ability to fly, and she took to the air, her armor clad body shining in the sunlight.

BlackGreymon stared at her, dumbfounded. "What? You could turn into a Digimon all this time?" He scowled at her, baring his fangs as he growled. "Were you playing me for a fool? _Mega Flame!"_

She did a summersault in the air, avoiding the attack. Coming down, she hovered a short distance above his head. "BlackGreymon, I have already apologized for my friend's inconsideration. Now I will ask you one last time to walk away. Forget this ever happened, and I will forgive you for your murderous intent. If you do not, then I won't hold back."

"Lousy wench! I don't want your forgiveness! _Mega Flame!"_

She swerved around this as well. "Very well. Just remember that you brought this upon yourself."

She winced as a fireball struck the side of her head. This one, however, came from BlackShoutmon. She gave him what would have been a look of sympathy if her marble-like face weren't permanently carved in a neutral expression. "I will set you free very soon, my friend." She looked back at BlackGreymon. "After I take care of this. _Rosetta Stone!"_

A beam of light shot out of her back and into the sky. A large stone tablet covered in ancient writing flew out of the beam, striking BlackGreymon on the head, and he stumbled back, dazed.

Nefertimon flew at him, tackling him with her body, pushing him back. She continued to fly, pushing the dinosaur Digimon through the trees, the thick trunks snapping against his back until they emerged at the beach once more, where she shoved him to the ground, leaving behind a deep groove in the sand.

Pulling away, she left him half buried as she flew into the sky. He didn't stay down long though, and when he pulled himself out of the groove, he roared up at her. _"Flame Breath!"_

Rather than a single fireball, a continuous stream of flames flew from his mouth like a blowtorch. Nefertimon swerved around in the air, avoiding the blaze as she got closer. _"Nile Jewelry!"_

Jewels flew from the cuffs on her wrists, raining down on him like a deadly hail. BlackGreymon roared and ceased breathing fire as he ducked and covered.

Landing a short distance away, Nefertimon fired her _Rosetta Stone_ , sending out one stone slab after another. The first one hit BlackGreymon in the gut, causing his arms to go from covering his head to clutching his stomach, right before another one collided with his face. He fell onto his rear end as he was bombarded with stone slab after stone slab.

" _Rowdy Rocker!"_

The attack came from behind as BlackShoutmon struck Nefertimon over the back of the head with his mic. She turned to him, only to have a fireball hit her in the face from his _Rock Spirit_ attack. She shook her head to see through the smoke, and once her vision was clear, she looked to where the attack came from, but BlackShoutmon was gone.

' _Fast little sucker,'_ she thought, having hoped to keep him out of the fight.

A moment later, she felt a sharp pain in her tail. Glancing over her shoulder, she found him grasping her tail in both hands and biting down on it. It hurt, yes, but it didn't do the type of damage it would have done if it were an official attack, like ExVeemon's _Critical Crunch_.

Which reminded her that he was still being possessed by Devimon. She needed to finish up here and get back to her friends as soon as possible.

With a flick of her tail, she sent the little dragon Digimon flying. She then unleashed her _Rosetta Stone_. Being as gentle as possible, she commanded the stone slab to come down on BlackShoutmon, pinning him to the ground.

Before she could act further, she felt BlackGreymon leap onto her back. Wrapping an arm around her neck, he growled into her ear. "Got you now, you pathetic fool."

"Well then, you better hold on tight," she retaliated, and took to the air.

BlackGreymon's grip shifted from attempting to strangle her to trying to hang on. Nefertimon built up speed as she flew straight up, going higher and higher. Suddenly, she began to loop around, making circles as she did mid-air summersaults. She felt BlackGreymon's grip on her start to slip until he was just barely holding on, then she flew straight down.

The air around her body heated as she sped towards the ground like a meteor. BlackGreymon was now struggling to maintain his grip. And when they were no more than 20 feet from the ground, she pulled out of the dive. BlackGreymon lost his hold on her and fell the rest of the way, sending up an explosion of sand as he crashed down on the beach.

Nefertimon came back down, landing a distance away from the impact sight. BlackGreymon had left a nice crater behind from his landing, if one could even call it a landing. He had to be hurting now, Nefertimon surmised, yet a few moments later, his clawed hand emerged from the hole, attempting to find some leverage so he could climb out.

"Stay down," the holy beast Digimon whispered, almost pleadingly.

But BlackGreymon did not stay down. Though looking worse for wear, he still stood tall and turned to face her. "Is that all you've got?"

"Alright," Nerfetimon growled. "Enough of this. _Rosetta Stone!"_

She put more energy into the attack than what was standard. The stone slab grew several times its normal size, and she launched it at the dinosaur Digimon, aiming low.

BlackGreymon opened his mouth to fire his _Mega Flame_. The stone slab collided with his legs, and he toppled forward on top of it, his attack going off course. The stone slab kept moving, carrying BlackGreymon with it as it raced across the beach. It sped over the water, going out into the ocean. BlackGreymon roared furiously as he disappeared upon the horizon.

"Good luck reaching the mainland!" Nefertimon called after him, even though the dinosaur Digimon was long gone.

With the main threat gone, she turned her attention to BlackShoutmon. The dragon Digimon was still pinned beneath the stone slab she had trapped him under, struggling to get free.

Nefertimon flew over to him. With a touch of her claw, she caused the stone slab to dissolve into data. BlackShoutmon made a move to get up, but she held him down with her paw, her gaze fixed on the black gear in his back. _"Beam of Isis!"_

A beam shot from her headdress, striking and destroying the gear. As the data particles vanished, BlackShoutmon's struggles ceased. Nefertimon backed up, praying her friend would return to his senses.

The blank lifeless look in his eyes disappeared, the light returning to them. He slowly got to his feet and looked around, seemingly confused, before turning to Nefertimon, staring at her hard. "Er, Kari?"

If she could smile, she would have, but she simply settled for nodding. "Gad to have you back."

"Back?" he repeated, and looked down at himself. "Ah! Why am I…?" Closing is eyes, he took a deep breath and began to glow. _"BlackShoutmon Slide Evolution… Shoutmon!"_

He changed back to his normal form, older looking, red and white, golden yellow scarf, scarred and battle worn, all over the Shoutmon she knew and loved.

"What happened?" he grumbled, bring a hand to his head. "How'd I end up as BlackShoutmon?"

"You got hit by one of Devimon's black gears."

He seemed confused for a moment, then his eyes widened. "That's right, I was! It hit me from behind! What a cowardly move!" His hand suddenly flew to his mouth. "Ooh, I did some bad things, didn't I? It's a little fuzzy, but I remember that much."

"It wasn't you," she assured him. "It was Devimon, he was controlling you." She looked out into the forest. "And speaking of being under his control, we have to help Davis." She bent down. "Climb on, I'll fly us there."

Shoutmon beamed. "Awesome!" He hopped up onto her back and punched the sky. "Lets go!"

With that, Nefertimon took to the air, and they were off.

 **(A/N: Heh, heh, I bet you thought she was going to become Gatomon or Angewomon. Nope, sorry. Did the chapter title give it away though? I thought it might, but felt it was appropriate. Oh, and if you didn't know, even though Gatomon Armor Digivolves into her, Nefertimon is still a Champion, not an Ultimate, just a more powerful Champion than Gatomon. Actually, Salamon can Digivolve to Nefertimon on her own without the Digi-Egg of Light, and without Digivolving to Gatomon first. So, technically, Nefertimon is a Slide Evolution for Gatomon, not an Armor Digivolution. Speaking of which, I chose Nefertimon because I felt she was more appropriate and useful than Gatomon. One last thing, I decided to include a list of the main characters' attacks and their effects at the bottom of the chapter Spirit Evolves on. I also went back and did the same for the previous chapters. Chapter 2 has Shoutmon's attack, Chapter 3 has Greymon, Chapter 8 has ExVeemon's, and Chapter 11 has Agunimon's. So you can go see that if you're interested. Up next, Operation Save ExVeemon. You don't want to miss it.)**

 **Nefertimon's attacks** **:**

 **Rosetta Stone – **_**Fires one or more stone tablets from a pink beam of light issuing from her back. The size of the stone slab can vary based on the amount of power used.**_

 **Nile Jewelry – **_**Fires jewels from the cuffs on her paws.**_

 **Beam of Isis – **_**Shoots a beam of light from her headdress.**_

 **Queen's Paw** **– _Fires exploding projectiles from leg armor._**

 **Golden Noose – **_**Uses a rope made of golden light to bind enemies. Can be used in unison with Pegasusmon.**_

 **Hot Foot** **– effects unknown**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the _DOT_ in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Nefertimon**


	15. Chapter 15: Group Decision

**(A/N: This chapter ended up being a little shorter than I intended, but considering I was going to have this chapter and the last chapter one long one, I felt it would be better to split them up.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 15: Group Decision**

Greymon flinched as the blast from another _Vee-Laser_ struck the ground beside him, sending up dust and rocks. The possessed ExVeemon was proving to be a real nuisance. Not only was he and Agunimon hesitant to attack their friend, but ExVeemon was sticking to the air, limiting the number of attacks the two of them could use against him.

"Devimon just had to possess the one that could fly," he growled.

He didn't mean to make it sound like he preferred one of his other friends to get possessed over another, but he was frustrated and worried for his sister ever since Roachmon had carried her off. The only consolation was that Shoutmon was with her, though it didn't help much.

TK seemed to be of a similar mind, and Takato had to struggle to prevent the blonde boy from going after her, managing to convince him that it would only make things worse if he got lost or in trouble too.

"Maybe that's why Devimon chose him," Agunimon replied, not taking offense to Greymon's words.

To make matters worse, Devimon's _Touch of Evil_ didn't seem to rob ExVeemon of his senses and leave him with just his basic instincts like the black gears did. No, ExVeemon still displayed just as much intelligence as before, only now he was a devoted follower of the fallen angel Digimon. Worse still, he seemed to be even _smarter_ than when Davis had his own free will, The way he remained high up out of reach and only attacked with his _Vee-Laser_ and _Hearty Shatter_ displayed this.

And, perhaps worst of all, they had no idea how to help him. With him attacking, they had to fight back, but there was no black gear for them to target. How could they possibly get their friend back to normal if they didn't know what was causing the problem?

" _Hearty Shatter!"_ ExVeemon cried, spitting several fireballs down at them.

Agunimon leapt in front of Greymon. He summoned up his own fire, absorbing ExVeemon's attack and sending his gathered flames up at the dragon Digimon.

ExVeemon flew up higher until he was out of range, then fired a _Vee-Laser_ down at them. Greymon countered with a _Nova Blast,_ the two attacks exploded upon collision. Yet through the smoke, a second _Vee-Laser_ came down. Greymon quickly created a _Fire Wall_ , but ExVeemon's attack came straight through the towering flames, the attack blasting the dinosaur and fire wizard Digimon back as it struck the ground in between them.

"This is ridiculous!" TK cried. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he shouted up at the dragon Digimon. "ExVeemon, you've got to snap out of it! Devimon is using you as his puppet!"

"Yeah," Takato called up to him. "He's just an evil freak using you for his own gain!"

ExVeemon glared down at him. "How dare you speak ill of Master Devimon!"

Greymon forced himself to stand. "It's no use. If my sister couldn't get through to him, none of us will."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Takato demanded. "We can't just let Devimon keep… controlling… him… like… this…"

He slowly trailed off, cocking his head further and further to the side with each word as he looked up at something in the sky. He saw something shiny flying behind ExVeemon, and at first thought it was a plane far in the distance. But as far as he knew, there were no planes in the Digital World, and as it got closer, he saw that it resembled a winged sphinx. "Oooook…"

The others spotted it too, deciding that it must be a Digimon. They were too far away to properly hear the name of the attack used, but a beam of pink light rose from its back and shot out a stone slab.

ExVeemon didn't even seem to realize she was there, and the attack hit him in the back. He cried out and began to drop from the sky. Nefertimon flew down after him and fired her _Queen's Paw_ attack. The exploding projectiles assaulted the dragon Digimon, sending him crashing the rest of the way to the ground.

Flying down low, the holy beast Digimon came down beside her friends. "Glad to see everyone is all right."

Shoutmon jumped off her back and saluted them. "Hey, guys! You miss me?"

"What? Shoutmon?" TK exclaimed.

Agunimon regarded the holy beast Digimon suspiciously. "Who's this?"

The dragon Digimon grinned. "Don't you know? It's Kari. Or as she is now, Nefertimon."

"Wha…?" Takato cried, looking dumbfounded. "Kari? Nefertimon?"

"I Spirit Evolved after Roachmon carried me off," she told them. "It's a long story."

"Wow…" TK whispered in awe. "You're beautiful."

His comment caused a blush to rise in her cheeks. From behind her, ExVeemon jumped to his feet, roaring loudly, and Nefertimon turned to him. "We can play catch-up later, when our team is complete once again."

"Sounds good to me," Greymon replied. He gave her a look of brotherly love. "Glad you're ok, sis."

"Glad _you're_ ok. Now lets end this."

They charged at ExVeemon. He quickly took to the air, but Nefertimon flew up after him. ExVeemon fired a _Vee-Laser_ at her, and she did a flip in the air to avoid it.

" _Beam of Isis!"_ she cried, firing her beam. It was countered by another _Vee-Laser_ , but the attack was meant to be a distraction as she flew past him. _"Golden Noose!"_

A rope of golden light fazed out of her body. It latched onto ExVeemon as she passed, and she began flying circles around him, binding him tightly. And once he was tightly bound, she flew back to the ground, pulling him with her.

She released her end of the rope, and he crashed into the ground. He was on his feet a moment later, just in time to have Greymon whack him with his _Tail Crash_ , knocking him into the trees.

He didn't stay down long though, and once he was on his feet again, he broke through his bindings with a burst of strength. The remains of the golden rope disappeared as he fired a _Vee-Laser_ , hitting Greymon right in the face, knocking him off his feet.

" _Crimson Knuckle!"_ Agunimon cried, rushing towards him to throw a punch with a flaming fist.

ExVeemon leapt at him, clamping his fangs down on the fire wizard Digimon's arm with his _Critical Crunch_ , effectively stopping Agunimon's attack.

" _Bellow Blaster!"_ Shoutmon cried, hitting the dragon Digimon in the side, knocking him off Agunimon.

ExVeemon's attention shifted to him, and he fired a _Vee-Laser_. Agunimon leapt to his feet and intercepted the attack, taking damage as a result. ExVeemon opened his mouth to unleash his _Hearty Shatter_ , only to be hit in the back of his head again by Nefertimon's _Rosetta Stone_. He fell forward, collapsing on the ground with his eyes closed.

"I think that one got him," she observed.

When ExVeemon didn't get up, they cautiously approached, the humans and Shoutmon a bit more hesitantly.

"You didn't kill him, did you?" Takato asked worriedly.

"No, look, he's still breathing," Agunimon noted. "Besides, his body would have broken down into data if he died."

"Unless it wouldn't because we're human," Greymon pointed out. He glanced at the small red Digimon. "Shoutmon?"

"Hmm," he thought about it. "Well, if you humans really don't break down into data after you die, which is really weird by the way, then I would say that if one of you died while you were a Digimon, the your Digimon body would break down into data, but your human body would remain behind. Talk about needlessly taking up space."

"Shoutmon!" Nefertimon cried.

"What?" he asked, looking genuinely confused.

A groan came from ExVeemon, and he opened his eyes. They were no longer completely white, and his pupils and irises were visible once more. Reaching up, he rubbed the back of his head where Nefertimon's attack had hit. "Ow, my head. What happened?"

"ExVeemon, you're back!" Takato exclaimed.

The dragon Digimon crossed his arms. "Of course I'm back." He paused for a moment, then gave Takato a confused look. "Um… where'd I go?"

"Over to the dark side," Agunimon told him. "Devimon totally hijacked your mind."

The dragon Digimon touched his forehead. "Is that why my brain feels like mush?" He reverted back to Davis, still rubbing his head. "Seriously, I got one nasty headache, like someone dropped a boulder on my head."

Nefertimon sweat-dropped. "Um, that may be partly my fault."

He looked at her. "Who are you?"

"Oh, right. Let me see if I got this."

A few seconds passed and Nefertimon turned back into Kari. Davis jumped back in surprise and simply stared at her. "K-Kari? You Spirit Evolved?"

"Apparently," Greymon replied as both he and Agunimon resumed their human forms.

Davis still looked confused. "But I thought Roachmon carried you off." His eyes widened. "Hey, I just remembered that! Everything is coming back to me." He frowned as he remembered the way he savagely attacked his friends. "Man, I was a jerk. Sorry about that. I can't believe I let Master Devimon control me. I mean Devimon! Not Master Devimon, just plain Devimon!"

Kari chuckled. "It's not your fault. Devimon possessed you, but it seems a good knock to your head brought you back to your senses."

TK smiled. "Yeah, lucky your head is so hard," he joked, earning a laugh from the others.

"So," Kari said as the laughter died down, "I got some good news. We're actually only a couple miles from the beach."

Takato's face lit up. "Really? That's great! Then we can get to the mainland and make our way to Cherubimon's castle. The first phase of our journey is almost over."

"And it only took about four weeks," Takuya pointed out, not entirely sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

Tai didn't voice his opinion on the matter. He was starring out in the distance. Not to where the ocean was, but in the other direction, towards the mountain. His face was set in a look of grim determination as he contemplated things.

"Hey, Tai," said TK, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You ok?"

The older boy was silent for a moment, then he said, "I'm not going."

His reply took TK aback. "What?"

"I said I'm not going," he repeated, not taking his eyes off the mountain. "I can't, not with Devimon out there causing trouble. Someone's got to stop him." He finally looked at them. "You guys go ahead without me. Head to the beach and get to work on a raft we can use to cross the ocean." He looked back at the mountain he'd seen the fallen angel

Digimon fly towards. "I'm going to stop Devimon."

A sly grin crept up Shoutmon's face, but Kari reacted differently. "What do you mean you're going to stop Devimon?"

He turned to her. "Just what I said. I'm going to stop him. Someone has to. What he's doing is pure evil. He needs to be taken down."

"But why you?" Takato demanded. "It's not your responsibility. This isn't even our world. Why should you have to risk your life to fight its battles?"

Tai sighed. "It _is_ my responsibility. Devimon must be stopped. This may not be our world, but I have the power to do something about this. That does make me responsible. I have to go, or else I'll never be able to look at myself in the mirror knowing that I let Devimon run amuck when I could have done something to stop him."

The others were silent for a few moments, then Davis placed his hands on his hips. "You know what? He's right. We have the power, so we have a duty. Great power, great responsibility, and all that. Count me in."

Takuya rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I guess we don't really have a choice."

Tai looked startled. "Whoa, hold up, guys. I didn't mean for you all to join me. This is my decision; I decided I was going to do this."

"Yeah, well, it's our decision too," Davis told him. "And we've decided to go with you."

Kari smiled. "Yup, we're in this together."

Tai glared at her. "No way, you're not going."

Her eyes narrowed. "Why? Because I'm a girl?"

"No, because you're my little sister. It's my job to look out for you. I'm not about to let you follow me into battle."

She stubbornly crossed her arms. "I'm not so little anymore. And in case you've forgotten, I can Spirit Evolve now. I have a responsibility too."

"Kari-"

"It's my decision, and I'm a part of this team. You can't make me stay behind, especially now that I can fly."

He opened and closed his mouth several times, but had no words. She was right, he couldn't make her stay behind, nor would she tolerate it if he could. His sister was as stubborn as she was selfless. There's no way she wouldn't do whatever she could to help. And she was right about flying. As long as she could travel by air, he'd never be able to get away from her.

Sighing heavily, he pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt a headache coming on. "Mom's gonna kill me for this."

Kari smiled, knowing she had gotten her way. And beside her, TK took a step forward. "We'll come too," he said, referring to himself and Takato.

The other boy blinked. "We will? I mean, yeah, of course we will!"

Tai gave them a look. "But you can't Spirit Evolve."

The blonde boy nodded. "Not yet, but we're still members of the team. We might even Spirit Evolve along the way."

"Besides," Takato added, "you can't leave us behind. What if another bad Digimon, or one controlled by a black gear shows up while you're away? We'd be defenseless."

Tai tried to come up with an argument for this, but couldn't think of anything. Takuya eventually placed a hand on his shoulder. "Face it, Tai, you're not going to win this argument," he said with a smile.

The older boy sighed. "Yeah, I guess not."

"Alright!" Shoutmon cheered. "It's decided then. Devimon is going down. Onward to Infinity Mountain. Digimon Data Squad, move out!"

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

So, they had decided to come for him, did they? How very cute. Well, if that's what they wanted, then he would give it to them.

"They are fools to think they can defeat me," Devimon arrogantly told himself.

However, he wasn't fool enough to think that they weren't a threat. So far they had bested him at every turn. True, he may have gotten to them when he made himself known, but they had come out even stronger than before.

Now four of them could Spirit Evolve. If all six gained that ability, it could become a real nuisance. Perhaps it was time for him to bust out the big guns. He had an ace up his sleeve; two of them actually, but one he would save for later.

"Those poor fools have no idea what they're in for. They think they can save this world? They're in way over their heads." An evil grin crept up his face. "And I think it's time they had a small sample."

 **(A/N: Looks like they're going after Devimon, but you probably figured that would happen. But what's this ace he has up his sleeve? And will TK and Takato Spirit Evolve in time? Who will be first? Tune in next time to find out, and have a Happy Thanksgiving.)**


	16. Chapter 16: Within the Mountain

**(A/N: Hello everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Last time, our heroes made the decision to go after Devimon. But the evil Digimon has a secret weapon up his sleeve. What's it going to be, read on to find out.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 16: Within the Mountain**

"Great, so now we have to go mountain climbing?" Davis complained as he stared up at the mountain. "All that walking just to go climbing."

"Hey, it's not that bad," TK noted. "Besides, aren't you some big, athletic, soccer star? You should be able to handle a little mountain."

Davis cut his eyes at him. "No one asked you, TP."

"Couldn't we just fly up?" Takato suggested. "You know, have ExVeemon and Nefertimon carry us."

"I don't think we should activate our DigiVices unless absolutely necessary," Tai replied. "We don't want to risk losing power and not being able to Spirit Evolve when we really need it. Remember what happened with Impmon."

Shoutmon scoffed. "I took care of that punk, no problem."

"Well, yeah, but what if we run into someone really powerful, but couldn't Spirit Evolve because we used up all our power unnecessarily?"

"That's a good point," Kari agreed. "And it doesn't look like it'll be a tough climb, just a long one."

She was right about that. There were even paths for them to take, so they didn't actually have to climb in those spots. Then again, there were also areas where they had to crawl up the side of the mountain, leaving them scrapped and sweaty.

Shoutmon seemed to have no problem scaling the mountain, and would often have to wait for the others to catch up. Tai was always the first to catch up, being the oldest, strongest, and most athletic of the group, followed shortly by Takuya.

Takato seemed to have the most trouble, and was always the last to catch up. When they were up high enough that a fall would mean certain death, they took a short break on a ledge that led into a cave. As they waited for Takato to catch up, Davis felt the need to shout, "Echo!" into the dark cavern.

"Davis," said Tai, "please try not to announce our presence to Devimon or any other hostile Digimon."

His doppelganger grinned apologetically. "Sorry, couldn't resist." He instead turned his attention to their straggler. "Hey, Takato, you hang in there, bud!"

Takato appreciated the encouragement, yet he still grimaced when he lost his footing and scuffed his knee. Up above, TK leaned over as far as he dared to offer him a helping hand while Kari quickly grabbed the blonde boy's arm to keep him from falling. Takato grasped his hand and was gratefully pulled onto the ledge.

"I need to get out more," he said, breathing heavily as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

Shoutmon snickered. "Hate to break it to you, but we've still got a _loooooong_ way to go."

Takato glanced up the mountainside. "Yeah, no kidding."

As he looked up, he noticed something round farther up. He cocked his head to the side and squinted, trying to make it out, but couldn't tell what it was. "Hey, what is that thing?"

The others looked up as well. "What thing?" Tai asked.

"Yeah, I see it too," Kari replied. "Something round."

Whatever they were looking at seemed to realize it had been spotted. Moments later, smaller round objects were falling down towards them, and Shoutmon's eyes widened. "MOVE!"

Acting without thinking, the teens dove out of the way of the falling objects. Around them, gray spheres, the size of soccer balls, with smiling faces on them, hit the ground and exploded on impact.

From up above, the large round object dropped down. The ground shook when it landed on the ledge and turned to the teens. They now found themselves starring up at a large metal ball nearly three times as tall as them. A pair of hands and feet stuck out of its sides, and a drunken face looked down at them. And out of the top of its head was a familiar black gear.

Davis blinked as he stared at the mutant Digimon. "What is that thing? A wrecking ball with hands and feet?"

The color drained from Shoutmon's face as he looked at the newcomer. "Oh my… Get in the cave!"

He didn't even wait for them as he rushed into the cavern. A moment later, the mutant Digimon created more of the exploding smiling spheres, and the teens quickly rushed after Shoutmon as it threw them.

They ducked and covered as the balls exploded behind them. The ceiling started to collapse, and they quickly crawled further inside the cave. The entrance was slowly blocked off, cutting off their light source and leaving them in the dark.

When the rumbling finally stopped, Shoutmon produced a miniature _Fiery Fastball_ and held it up for light. "Everybody ok?"

Tai was having a coughing fit. "I think so. At least we weren't separated this time."

"Yeah, but now we're trapped," Davis pointed out. "Why'd we run away? We could have take that overgrown bowling ball."

Shoutmon cut his eyes at him. "On, that little ledge?"

"Hey, I can fly. So can Kari. We could have fought from the air. And the guy had a black gear in him. We just had to destroy it."

Shoutmon scoffed. "The two of you wouldn't have been a match for him. That was BigMamemon. He's an Ultimate level Digimon. Not a strong one, I'll give you that, but still an Ultimate. Not even a dozen Champions can stand up to a single weak Ultimate, and that's what level you guys are at, Champion. He would have torn you apart."

"He didn't look that tough," Tai noted.

This got a laugh out of the dragon Digimon. "Trust me on this, appearances have absolutely nothing to do with power when it comes to Digimon."

TK considered this. "An Ultimate. But I thought you said they left the island once they reach the Champion level."

"I said no such thing. Most Digimon leave at the Rookie level, but some wait until they're Champions. It's very rare, but there's no law against waiting until you become an Ultimate or even a Mega to leave; it's just extremely rare. Remember Datamon? He was an Ultimate. Most Digimon just choose to go out into the world earlier. They'll also have a much better chance to Digivolve by challenging more powerful opponents on the mainland rather than the weaker lower level majority on this island. It doesn't mean they _can't_ stay though; it just takes forever to Digivolve. And who knows, maybe they actually came back here later, or maybe they never left and simply decided to live on the island. I don't know. What I do know is that BigMamemon is an Ultimate, and you guys don't stand a chance against him."

Kari looked back at the sealed entrance, "But he has a black gear in him. We have to help him."

Shoutmon sighed. "Sweetheart, you won't be able to help anyone if you face him now. Our only hope is to defeat Devimon and hope it will free him from the black gear's control."

"Great," Takato muttered. "So how are we supposed to get to him while sealed inside this cave?"

Holding up the light, Shoutmon motioned down the tunnel. "This is called Infinity Mountain for a reason. Not just because it seems to stretch upward forever, but because it has nearly an infinite number of tunnels running through it. We'll just find another way out."

"Great," Takato said again. "First mountain climbing, now cave exploring."

"Trust me," the dragon Digimon replied, "it's better than facing BigMamemon."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

If it weren't for Shoutmon's flame light, they would have been completely in the dark. Even so, the small fireball provided them with enough illumination to make their way around. Yet getting through the caves proved to be a challenge with the various number of tunnels they came across, and no clue as to which one led outside.

TK had suggested using a fire to see which tunnels had a breeze, but it didn't work so well. It seemed that many tunnels led to the surface, yet all contained twists and turns that connected and doubled back.

They decided to take a break after an hour of exploring the tunnels, already having been tired from hiking and climbing up the mountain. Shoutmon didn't provide any more light during this time so he could conserve energy by not having to create a new fireball every time the previous one burned out.

TK and Kari curled up together with their heads resting against each other and their fingers interlocked as they slept. Takato was currently nodding off, and Davis was snoring loudly, keeping Takuya awake. Tai refused to sleep, but had sat down to recover his strength while Shoutmon kept yawning. After a particularly loud yawn, he sniffed and picked up a scent. It smelled like smoke, and his last _Fiery Fastball_ had burned out nearly 20 minutes ago.

"Hey," he said. "Hey, wake up. Do you guys smell that?"

Takato looked at him sleepily. "Smell what?"

"Smoke," the dragon Digimon replied. "You don't smell it?"

Tai sniffed the air. "I don't smell anything. But then again, you've got a much better nose than we do."

Shoutmon produced another fireball. "We should follow it. Maybe we can find a way out. Go wake up the noise maker and lovebirds."

Tai blinked. "What lovebirds?"

He didn't receive a reply, and soon they were making their way down the tunnel. The smoke from Shoutmon's own fireball dimmed the scent with its own, but he as still able to follow the one he had picked up.

"There!" he exclaimed, pointing down the tunnel to where the light from another fire emitted.

As they hurried down the tunnel, the light began to move away. It was proof enough that someone else was here, and they were attempting to flee, even taking them down several crossroads of tunnels, but was unable to hide the light.

They finally turned a corner while on their pursuit and ran into an unfamiliar face. It was a Digimon of some kind that resembled a troll with an abnormally large nose with a marking on it. The Digimon blocked their path, giving them an unfriendly look.

Behind the new Digimon was the light source, emitting from the flame of a Digimon that was a living candle hiding behind the gnome Digimon that demanded, "What you kids doing here?"

"Whoa, who's this guy?" Davis asked.

TK checked his Digivice, and realized for the first time that they could have used the devices for light. "Grumblemon, Champion level, special attack _Seismic Sludge_. The other one is Candlemon, Rookie level, special attack _Lava Loogie_. Eww, that sounds nasty."

Grumblemon didn't even acknowledge his or Candlemon's descriptions. "Why you chase my friend?" he demanded, looking at them suspiciously.

"Oh," Kari gasped, "we're sorry. See, we're trying to find our way through these tunnels, but we're kind of lost. We saw your friend's light and hoped he could help us."

"Yeah," said Davis, "we need to get up to the big bad fallen angel Digimon."

Candlemon gasped as Grumblemon's eyes narrowed and he pointed at them. "You work for Devimon? You not welcome here!"

Takato waved his hands. "Hold on, we're not working for him!"

"You lie!" Grumblemon declared. Reaching down, he pulled a large spiked hammer out of the ground. "You no fool me! I'll show you!"

He moved as if to attack him. The teens' first thought was to Spirit Evolve, but in the tight confines of this tunnel, they wouldn't be able to move if they did. All but one.

" _Execute!"_ Takuya cried. _"Spirit Evolution… Agunimon!"_

Being only slightly taller than a full-grown man, the fire wizard Digimon would be able to fight back in the confined space. He and Grumblemon rushed at each other, ready to go head to head.

"Me knew you was working for him," the gnome Digimon cried, raising his hammer.

" _Diamond Storm!"_

The attack came not from him, but from behind him, knocking the hammer out of his hands. Both he and Agunimon ceased their battles as they turned to the source.

"That is enough, Grumblemon," the newcomer told him. "Not all that enter this cave are after us."

The gnome Digimon growled as he turned to face her. "Renamon, why you stop me?"

The anthropomorphic fox-like Digimon came up to them with a Candlemon on either side of her. "Why do you attack them? They gave a valid reason for their presence and actions."

"I take no chances. They could have come to enslave us with those black gears."

"We will take no action unless we need to. It is Devimon who is the enemy."

Grumblemon punched the cave wall. "They say they going to see him. Why else go to see him unless to join him?"

"We're going there to defeat him," Agunimon replied, deciding to remain in his Digimon form in case they were met with any more hostility.

Grumblemon glared at him. "So you say."

"Enough!" Renamon snapped. "Make yourself scarce. I shall see to our guests."

The gnome Digimon stared at her for a few moments before giving the teens one last look and storming away. "If they our enemies, this be on you," he growled to the fox Digimon as he passed her.

"I will keep that in mind," she replied, then looked back at the teens. "I apologize for him. He has become somewhat paranoid since Devimon took over the mountain."

Tai placed his hands on his hips. "And I don't blame him, what with all those black gears flying around."

"I am glad you understand," she said, and made her way over to them. She paused just long enough to give Agunimon a curious look before continuing over to those that were still human, examining them with interest. "Strange, I've never seen creatures such as you."

"We're human," TK told her as she lifted his arm to look at it. "We came here by accident from another world."

"Human, you say. Interesting." She stood back and looked him up and down, then glanced at Agunimon. "Yet you can turn into Digimon."

"Yeah, you can thank this guy for that," Davis replied, nudging Shoutmon, who was openly staring at Renamon. "And these," he added, holding up his Digivice.

Renamon didn't seem to understand, but seemed to accept the explanation. "Well, I suppose stranger things have happened." She crossed her arms. "So, why are you going to see Devimon?"

Tai grabbed the air. "We told you, to kick his sorry butt, and show him that he can't push people around."

"Basically," said Agunimon, "we decided that since we have the power to do something, we should do it."

Renamon smirked at that. "How admirable." She glanced at Shoutmon. "And what of you?"

He flinched as if he'd been startled. "Huh? Me? I… um… I guide… bring them along… Digimon King… I am…"

Renamon raised an eyebrow. "I see… Well, if you're serious about facing Devimon, I have a friend that can help. Come, follow me."

Agunimon glanced at Tai, who nodded, then became Takuya once more. "Alright, lead the way."

Guided by the Candlemon's light, they followed the fox Digimon down the tunnel. Shoutmon remained behind, his heart racing in his chest, before he suddenly realized he was being left behind and hurried after them. "Hey, you guys, wait for me!"

 **(A/N: Trapped in a cave with a possessed BigMamemon on the outside. Well, things could be worse. At least the residents seem friendly, for the most part. Grumblemon isn't too happy with their intrusion and could be troublesome, but at least Renamon is on their side, or so it seems. Just who is this friend she wants them to meet? Can they really help our heroes defeat Devimon? And what's up with Shoutmon? He's certainly acting strange. Stay tuned to receive these answers.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/BigMamemon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Candlemon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Grumblemon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Renamon**


	17. Chapter 17: Bomber Mon

**(A/N: I started watching** _ **Digimon Tri**_ **. It's pretty good. More intense and serious than past seasons. I'm not too fond of the new art style though, but whatever. So, picking up where we left off, our heroes are heading deeper into the mountain to meet an unknown Digimon while a possessed BigMamemon is rampaging outside. Will this aid them, or hinder them? Only one way to find out. The chapter title is a pun. You'll see why.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Chapter 17: Bomber Mon**

"Ever since Devimon took over the mountain with his black gears, we've been in hiding," Renamon explained as she led them along. "Many of us called this mountain our home, but we've had to hide ourselves away because of those accursed gears."

"I don't blame you," Tai replied. "Those things are nasty. I can't believe Devimon is enslaving Digimon with them."

Renamon nodded in agreement. "A friend of ours went to try and stop him, but he never returned. We fear he was taken over by one of the black gears. No one has seen BigMamemon since."

Takuya stopped walking. "BigMamemon? He's the one that chased us in here."

Renamon stopped and looked back at him. "What?"

He nodded. "Yeah, he chased us right into this cave. And he _is_ being control by a black gear."

She stared at him for a few seconds before closing her eyes and sighing. "I was afraid of that. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do for him."

Davis smirked. "Don't worry, we'll save him as soon as we take out Devimon. So who's this friend that can help us?"

She didn't answer for a moment. "Before I can take you to him, I have to take you to the one in charge. He was the former ruler of Infinity Mountain before Devimon took over."

"Really?" said Takato. "I thought BigMamemon would have been in charge since he's an Ultimate."

Renamon just smiled. "He's an Ultimate too, but he's even stronger."

"Then why doesn't he face Devimon?" Kari asked.

"So he wouldn't risk falling prey to the black gears. Besides, we need him to lead and protect us in this time of crisis. His name is BlueMeramon, and he will be the one to decide what happens to you."

"BlueMeramon, great," Takato muttered. He glanced at Shoutmon. "Do you know anything about this guy?" But he received no answer. "Hmm? Hey, Shoutmon, you ok?"

Tai looked back at them. "What's happening back there?"

"I don't know, Shoutmn isn't responding." He lightly shook the dragon Digimon. "Hello, is anyone in there?"

"Ehh?" came Shoutmon's mumbled reply. He said nothing more as he stared dreamily at Renamon's retreating more.

Kari looked from the fox Digimon to Shoutmon, and a smile lit up her face. "I think I know what's going on."

"What?" TK asked. He didn't receive a verbal answer, but instead she gave the smallest nod in Shoutmon's direction and then one in Renamon's. TK's eyes widened as it clicked. "Oh, I get it now."

He slowed his pace until he was walking beside the dragon Digimon. "So, Shoutmon, Renamon is very pretty, don't you think?" he asked, trying to keep his voice low.

"Uh huh," Shoutmon muttered dreamily. "So pretty. And she has such lovely fur."

Takuya suddenly figured it out as well and fell into step beside them. "So, you got a little crush on her?"

Shoutmon jumped as if startled. "W-W-What? What makes you say that? I'm the Digimon King! I don't have time to think about such things right now!"

"Are you sure?" Kari asked smiling.

"Of course I'm sure! It's not like I want to hold her hand, or go on a nice moonlit stroll, or take her out for a fancy dinner, or give her flowers, or… or… something…"

The others chuckled. Renamon glanced back at them with a raised eyebrow. "In here, I'm sure BlueMeramon already knows you're here."

The tunnel opened up into a much larger cavern. It was full of several Digimon. Many fire types with flames on their bodies kept the area lit. And all focus turned to the teens as they entered.

It was easy enough to spot BlueMeramon, even without having him pointed out. He resembled a man engulfed from head to toe in blue flames. His mouth appeared to be stitched shut, but he seemed to have no trouble opening it as he spoke with Grumblemon.

"That them!" the gnome Digimon accused, pointing at the teens as they entered. "They the spies for Devimon!"

"That remains to be seen," Renamon reported.

"We're not spies!" Takato argued back. "I thought we settled this already."

"We settle nothing, human!" Grumblemon shot back.

BlueMeramon held up his hand to silence him. "If you are not spies, then why do you seek him out?"

"To take him down," Takuya replied. "We're gonna show Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Ugly that he can't push people around anymore."

"That a lie!" Grumblemon snapped. "They just want to tell him where we hiding!"

Though the flame Digimon headed his words, he did not seem convinced. "Devimon already knows we are hiding in the mountain. He chose not to send his black gears after us. So why would he send a group of human children in after us? Where would he even find them?"

Renamon stepped forward on behalf of the teens. "BlueMeramon, contrary to our… friend's claim, these children have shown no hostility towards us. I am good at sensing hostile intentions, and it seems that the only one they wish to harm is Devimon himself. I think we can trust them. They have also confirmed the whereabouts of BigMamemon. He was indeed a victim of the black gears. He was the one that chased them in here."

BlueMeramon sighed. "I was afraid of that." He rubbed his chin, as he studied the teens. "Tell me, humans, how did you manage to come to our world?"

Tai sighed and placed his hands on his hips. "That's the million dollar question, and the amount I'd pay for an answer. We have no idea how we got here, just that we are. We were told that Cherubimon might have some answers, but we couldn't leave while Devimon is causing trouble."

"Cherubimon?" BlueMeramon repeated. "You would need to cross the ocean to see him. And with Devimon abusing the black gears, the individual sections of the island can't travel. It'll be difficult to cross the ocean unless you were a flying or marine Digimon."

He considered them for a few moments. "Very well, I will give you a chance to prove where your loyalties lie. If you help us restore our friend BigMamemon to normal, then we will take you to Devimon. Defeat him, and we will personally build you a boat to cross the sea since even after Devimon's defeat, it'll take some time to for File Island to start working properly again."

Davis' face lit up. "Whoa, really? That's awesome. I don't even know how to build a boat."

Shoutmon tugged on his shirt. "Um, did you forget about the fighting BigMamemon part? How are we supposed to beat an Ultimate?"

Renamon just smiled. "I'm sure you can do it. I have faith in you."

Her tone wasn't seductive or flirty in anyway, yet Shoutmon still swooned. "Whatever you say."

BlueMeramon grinned. "It is decided then. Digmon."

From out of the crowd, a yellow insect-like Digimon with drills for its nose and hands stepped forward. "Right here."

"Bring these humans to the outside. Don't let them back inside until BigMamemon has been returned to normal."

"Understood, sir." He marched over to them, nodding in greeting. "Howdy."

Renamon nodded back. "Digmon." She turned to the teens. "This is the friend I mentioned earlier. He will get you out of here."

"Sweet," Davis exclaimed. "Then lets get a move on."

"Try not to get killed!" Grumblemon called after them tauntingly.

Digmon just humphed. "Don't listen to him. He's a real stick in the mud. Come one, we're moving out."

He marched over to the cavern wall and began drilling into it. He worked very fast, and made excellent time as he buried through solid rock to make a tunnel for them to go through.

Renamon waved as they took their leave, wishing them luck in the upcoming battle. Shoutmon had to practically be dragged away as he waved tearfully to the fox Digimon.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"Let there be light!" Digmon declared as he drilled to the outside. "Alright, kids, this is your stop. I wish you the best of luck."

"Great," Takato muttered as he and the others exited the newly dug tunnel. "We're about to face certain death, and all we get is a wish for good luck."

"Sorry," Digmon replied, "but it's all I can do for now. Later, dudes."

He drilled along the mouth of the cave, causing rocks to fall down and seal it shut, the insect Digimon disappearing inside.

"Well," said Davis, "I guess we're on our own."

"Yeah, but where are we?" TK wondered, looking around. "I thought he was going to take us to where BigMamemon was."

"Well, we're still on the mountain," Kari noted. "Maybe he's around here somewhere."

Takuya seemed skeptical. "How would Digmon even know where BigMamemon is if he was inside the mountain the whole-"

" _Big Smirk Bomb!"_

The smiling metal balls from earlier dropped down by them and exploded, the force of the blast knocking them over. Rolling down the mountainside and landing with a heavy thud was the Digimon in question.

Groaning, Takuya sat up. "I stand corrected. _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Agunimon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Greymon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… ExVeemon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Nefertimon!"_

"Alright, guys," said Greymon. "Don't forget that this guy's an Ultimate. We need to end this as fast as possible. We're not trying to fight him, we're after the black gear."

"I got it," ExVeemon declared, flying overhead. _"Vee-Laser!"_

The X-shaped beam flew at him, but BigMamemon simply threw a punch, his fist causing the attack to blast against it, leaving him unharmed.

"Whoa, hey!" ExVeemon growled. "Can he do that?"

"Apparently he can," Nefertimon replied. _"Rosetta Stone!"_

The attack hit him in the back. BigMamemon just turned to her with a stupid grin on his face, not looking bothered in the least by her attack as he charged in her direction. She fired off more stone slabs, but he used his fists to punch them into rubble.

Nefertimon took to the air when he attempted to tackle her. Even so, he rolled onto his side and threw a bomb at her. She managed to avoid it, but was still partially caught up in the blast when it exploded mid-air.

" _Nile Jewelry!"_ she shouted, firing jewels at him.

At the same time, Agunimon fired his _Pyro Darts_. The jewels and bits of fire bounced off BigMamemon's body as he continued watching the flying holy beast Digimon. He squatted down and suddenly launched himself in the air, soaring above Nefertimon's head.

" _Heavy Dive!"_ he cried, suddenly dropping to the ground like a meteor.

Nefertimon swerved to the side, but he still hit her wing, earning a painful grunt from her as it felt like it broke. Greymon quickly charged to BigMamemon's falling form and used _Tail Crash_ , slamming his tail into the mutant Digimon before he could hit the ground.

BigMamemon was knocked aside, but turned it into a summersault in the air, landing on his feet. ExVeemon fired his _Hearty Shatter_ , but the fireballs just bounced off his body.

Creating another bomb, he threw it up at the dragon Digimon. ExVeemon quickly caught it before it could hit him and held it up over his head triumphantly. "Hey, I caught it!" A moment later, it exploded in his hand. Covered from head to toe in soot, he breathed out a mouthful of smoke. "Yeah, don't catch the bombs…"

" _Nova Blast!"_ Greymon cried, spitting a fireball.

It struck BigMamemon in the face, and he rolled backwards, but used the hands on his head to stop himself. He remained in a handstand position for a few moments before pushing himself forward and rolling onto his feet again.

"Our attacks aren't even fazing him," ExVeemon noted. "Is this the power of an Ultimate?"

"This is the power of a _weak_ Ultimate," Shoutmon replied.

Agunimon stepped forward. "No way, we just need to up the antae. _Pyro Tornado!"_

The flames rose up around the mutant Digimon, and BigMamemon was consumed by a fiery tornado. The others watched and waited, but when the flames finally died down, BigMamemon was still standing, bearing nothing more than a few scorch marks on his body.

"No way!" Agunimon exclaimed.

BigMamemon's grin widened. _"Big Smirk Bomb!"_

The grinning bombs appeared in his hands, and he began throwing them one after the other. Explosions went off all around the Digimon, and even ExVeemon and Nefertimon couldn't escape when they took flight as the mutant Digimon simply tossed them in the air.

"How many bombs does he have?" TK cried, fearful for his friends' lives.

Shoutmon's fists clenched. "An unlimited amount. As long as he still has energy, he can just keep creating more." His gaze drifted up BigMamemon's body to the black gear sticking out of his head. "I think I can get the gear. I'm going for it."

He threw a _Fiery Fastball_. His aim was on target, but with BigMamemon's body in motion as he continued to throw the bombs, Shoutmon fell just short of hitting the gear, and his attack hit the back of the mutant Digimon's head.

BigMamemon stopped throwing bombs and turned to him. He created another bomb, and moved to throw it, but was suddenly grabbed from behind by Greymon. The bomb slipped out of his hand and rolled across the ground over to Shoutmon. The dragon Digimon's expression became one of fright as the bomb came to a rest right in front of him.

TK moved quickly, grabbing Shoutmon in his arms and turning around so the bomb would do the least amount of damage as he shielded the dragon Digimon with his body.

Takato had moved at the same time, only he tried a different strategy that he saw on TV that would reduce the destruction of the blast, but called for a sacrifice. This was how he found himself on top of the bomb, using his own body to confine the explosion. A moment later, it went off beneath him.

"Takato!" several voices cried out as BigMamemon used the distraction to knock Greymon off his back.

Everyone else's attention was on the blast sight. The smoke was clearing, and they knew they would either see their friend's splattered corpse, or something else.

Light shined through the smoke as the latter proved to be true. Takato glowed brightly, the light originating from his pocket.

"Am I dead?" he asked to no one in particular, and cracked open an eye. He saw his friends staring at him and noticed the light around his body. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his shining Digivice, feeling more relieved than he ever had in his entire life.

"Oh, thank goodness," he sighed, and pressed the activation button. _"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Growlmon!"_

The light flickered out and a red Digimon that resembled a cross between a dinosaur and a dragon stood in Takato's place.

"He did it!" Nefertimon cheered. "He Spirit Evolved!"

"It seems like the Digivice's initially act in a time of need," Greymon noted.

"Yeah, I was kind of hoping that would happen," the new dinosaur Digimon replied. _'Still, I think I wet my myself.'_

"Excellent," said ExVeemon. "Now we've got one more. We can take him now."

"No, you can't!" Shoutmon scolded. "Just get that gear!"

Greymon motioned to the others. "Spread out. Lets use our numbers to our advantage."

The other four quickly followed his orders, forming pentagon around BigMamemon. The mutant Digimon looked from one to the other, trying to decide which to attack.

"I'll start us off," said Growlmon, eager to test out his new powers. _"Dragon Slash!"_

The blade on one of his elbows began glowing, and he flung a crescent shaped blade of plasma at the mutant Digimon. It struck BigMamemon, and he immediately turned towards him, throwing a bomb that Growlmon jumped back to avoid.

" _Beam of Isis!"_ Nefertimon cried, striking the mutant Digimon, who quickly threw a bomb at her.

" _Nova Blast!"_ cried Greymon, copying Growlmon's method of attack and dodge. The others followed suit.

" _Vee-Laser!"_

" _Pyro Punch!"_

BigMamemon was now wobbling as he looked from who was attacking him to who had already attacked him to who might attack him. The black gear may have put him under Devimon's control by taking away his free will, but in doing so, it had also stripped him of the ability to think rationally on his own, and his opponents quickly developed a strategy to use this to their advantage.

"Keep moving!" Growlmon told the others. "Don't give him time to decide who to attack!"

" _Vee-Laser!"_

" _Pyro Punch!"_

" _Rosetta Stone!"_

" _Nova Blast!"_

The attacks came one after another as they circled around the mutant Digimon. BigMamemon's movements became clumsy as he began dropping the bombs he created and began stumbling about.

"One more!" Growlmon declared. _"Pyro Blaster!"_

He breathed a stream of plasma that exploded on contact, hitting BigMamemon in the face. He stumbled back and fell on his rear end, disorientated.

"I got him now," Nefertimon told them. _"Golden Noose!"_

She circled around him, wrapping her rope of light around his body and lifting him into the air. BigMamemon was left hanging upside down, the black gear open to attack.

"I'll get it," Agunimon volunteered. _"Pyro Darts!"_

The bits of fire struck the black gear, destroying it. Nefertimon dropped her rope, and BigMamemon crashed to the ground. When it faded away, the mutant Digimon was revealed to be fast asleep.

"You're kidding!" TK exclaimed. "After all that, he just rolls over and falls asleep?"

"Literally rolls over," said ExVeemon.

Greymon turned back into Tai, as did the others. "I guess it does seem rather anti-climatic.

Kari dared to approach the sleeping Digimon and patted his side. "At least we freed him from Devimon's control."

Takuya wiped his sweaty forehead. "Yeah, at least there's that. But, man, am I wiped. I could use a nap myself."

"Yeah, no joke," Tai agreed. "I think we could all use a break after that." His attention went to Growlmon. "Hey, big guy, why don't you turn back?"

I'm trying," Growlmon replied. "It doesn't seem to be working. How did you guys- Oh, there we go." He finished changing back to his human form. After a quick once over of himself, he breathed a sigh of relief and turned to his friends. "Well, that was intense."

"It sure was," said Tai. "And we owe you a big thanks. We might not have made it if it weren't for you."

"Well, the two of us definitely wouldn't have," TK replied, still holding Shoutmon. "You saved our lives back there."

The dragon Digimon just groaned. "Yeah, I suppose we owe you some thanks."

Takato bashfully rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, come on, it wasn't that big a deal. Besides, I really wasn't thinking about what I was doing; I just did it."

"You did good, that's what you did."

They turned to find Digmon walking over to them. Behind him, the cave he had sealed was open once more. Renamon and Grumblemon stood at the entrance, both with their arms crossed, but one was smirking while the other was scowling.

"You did well," Renamon told them. "I knew you could do it."

Grumblemon humphed. "You darn kids got lucky."

"Luck or no luck," the fox Digimon told him, "they fulfilled their end of the bargain."

"You got that right," Digmon agreed. "You may now consider us your new BFFs. Come on inside and rest up. Tomorrow, I'll personally take you to Devimon." He held up his drills. "We'll tunnel right into that creep's sanctuary."

Grumblemon humphed again. "If you want to fall prey to his black gears, you be my guest. We stay out of it."

Renamon sighed. "I'm afraid he's right. If Devimon takes control of one of us, we would be able to lead him right to our friends in the mountain."

"That's fine," Tai replied. "With Growlmon to help us, Devimon won't stand a chance."

"I'm sure he won't," Digmon agreed. "There's just one more favor I need to ask of you."

"What's that?" Kari asked.

The insect Digimon patted BigMamemon's large, round, solid body. "Help us roll the big guy inside."

 **(A/N: One more down. Now TK is the only hold out. Well, not hold out, but you know what I mean. Now they've got the chore of pushing BigMamemon. It probably would have been easier to fight him to the death.** **We're getting close to the showdown with Devimon. So exciting. The first major villain battle. It's gonna be intense. Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.** **)**

 **Growlmon's attacks:**

 **Pyro Blaster ****– _S_** _ **pews a blaze.**_

 **Dragon Slash ****– _Fires a blade of plasma energy from the blades on his elbows._**

 **Fire Blaster** **– _Breathes a stream of fire._**

 **Dino Kick** **– _Jump kicks and whips with his tail._**

 **Growl Claw** **– _Scratches._**

 **Dragon Spine** **– _Fires the hairs on the back of his neck in a spray of needles._**

 **Howling ****– _Unleashes a high-pitches howl._**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the _DOT _ in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/BlueMeramon**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Digmon**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Growlmon**


	18. Chapter 18: A Very Big Problem

**(A/N: Wow, I haven't updated this story since last year. Ha, ha, get it? Aah, never mind, that joke is so old. I hope everyone had a good New Years. The moment you've all been waiting for is here, the showdown with Devimon. It's the longest chapter so far, but how could it not be?)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Chapter 18: A Very Big Problem**

Devimon was not happy. Not only were those annoying children still alive, they had also freed BigMamemon from his control. He'd lost a powerful servant, and another black gear. And to make matters worse, another one of those kids could now do that Spirit Evolve thing.

And now they were coming for him. It would have been fine if it wasn't so frustrating. How did a group of human children and their Rookie level Digimon friend manage to sabotage his plans at every turn? It was outrageous. Yet it still happened. And now they had the gall to come and face him. Him!

Well, he would make them pay for their arrogance and good deeds. He was Devimon, one of the most powerful Champions of all. Never would he allow himself to be defeated by a bunch of human children. He would show them the true meaning of fear, and make them pay for opposing him.

"They will regret the day they came to this world." He held up his arms. "Now, come to me, my black gears."

All over File Island, the black gears obeyed his command. Even the ones embedded in other Digimon dislodged themselves, freeing the brainwashed Digimon as they returned to his side.

Devimon grinned as the flying discs hovered around over his head. There was a little over a dozen left, but it would be enough. Those humans wouldn't even know what hit them. And once he got them out of the way, nothing would stop him from taking over the island, especially Primary Village. And then he would spread his influence to the newborn Digimon, making sure they took Dark Digivolutionary routes so they would serve the forces of darkness. It was something he greatly looked forward to, almost as much as crushing those miserable humans.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"Almost there…" Digmon repeated as they tunneled through the mountain. "Almost there… and… done!"

He finished drilling, having made a hole through the floor that led right up into Devimon's sanctuary way up on Infinity Mountain. The place had once belonged to BlueMeramon, but it was abandoned when the black gears started taking over other Digimon, and was now the home to the evil fallen angel Digimon.

"Thanks a lot, Digmon," said Tai as he and the others climbed through.

"No problem, guys. You sure got a lot of guts facing Devimon. I'd lend you a hand, but don't want to risk getting stuck with one of those black gears."

"Hey, we understand," Davis replied. "And don't worry about it, we got this covered."

Digmon winked at them. "Well, I got faith in ya. Later, guys."

Shoutmon waved down to him as the insect Digimon retreated down the hole. "Tell Renamon that I'll come back for her some day!"

Digmon glanced over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow. "Um, sure, right, whatever. Good luck."

With that, he disappeared into the darkness. They were on their own now, about to face their most fearsome opponent yet.

"So, here we are," said Takato, stating the obvious. "How are we gonna do this?"

"Like this," Davis replied. He turned to Shoutmon. "Hey, can I borrow your mic for a sec?"

Shoutmon hesitated. "Um, yeah, I guess. Here."

"Thanks, bud," he replied, taking it from him. He held it to his mouth and took a deep breath. "HEY, DEVIMON, COME OUT AND FACE US, YOU COWARD!"

The others all had their hands pressed over their ears.

"Davis, are you crazy?" Takuya hissed.

"No need to shout, humans," a voice from up above boomed. "I can hear you just fine."

There was the sound of wings flapping as a shadow passed overhead. A few moments later, Devimon landed on the other side of the room, greeting them with a sinister smile. "Welcome, children. I've been expecting you."

Davis tossed Shoutmon back his mic. "Good, that makes it easier for us."

Devimon laughed. "You humans are either very brave or very foolish to come here."

"You're going down Devimon," Tai swore. "We're gonna make you pay for all that you've done."

"Is that so? You poor fools really have no idea what you're in for."

"We'll see about that. Lets do it, guys. _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Greymon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… ExVeemon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Agunimon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Nefertimon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Growlmon!"_

With all his friends in their Digimon forms, TK reluctantly hung back with Shoutmon. "You can do it, guys, I know it."

Devimon surveyed the scene before him. "So, this is it? This is the full extent of your power? How very sad."

"You can't bluff your way out of this," Greymon told him.

"Yeah, there's no way you can defeat all five of us," said ExVeemon.

"True," Devimon agreed. "As things are, I don't have a chance in this fight. But what you don't know is that I have an ace up my sleeve, a secret weapon if you will, that will make defeating you all too easy."

"You lie!" Growlmon snarled.

"It's no lie, little human. Now witness your doom. To me, my black gears!"

At his words, several black gears flew into the room. The teens braced themselves, expecting the gears to go after them. But they didn't. Instead, they flew straight at Devimon and began going into his body. It wasn't like with the other Digimon that were possessed by them, rather, the gears completely fazed into the fallen angel Digimon's body.

Devimon began laughing maniacally. A moment later, he began growing at an alarming rate. His head hit the ceiling in no time, and it began to crack as he continued getting bigger.

"Get out!" Greymon roared. "Everyone outside!"

They rushed to the doors, Nefertimon quickly retrieving TK and Shoutmon before heading outside. The cathedral trembled as Devimon kept growing, finally bursting through the top to the outside. With more room, he stood up to his fill height and spread his wings.

Finally, the growing stopped, and he hopped off the destroyed remains of the cathedral and onto the ground. The teens, having made it outside, stared up at him in disbelief. Devimon now stood hundreds of times taller than he was before. He could pick up Greymon, the largest of the group, as if he were a toy plushy.

With an evil grin, Devimon looked down at them, his red eyes shining with bloodlust. "Well, humans? Are you still feeling so confident?"

"Dude!" ExVeemon exclaimed. "He's huge!"'

"We never expected anything like this," Agunimon growled. "How are we supposed to beat him now?"

"The same way we planned to beat him before," Greymon replied. "Together. _Nova Blast!"_

The fireball flew at Devimon and exploded against his shoulder, but considering it had been the size of a golf ball, it didn't do much.

"Is that it?" Devimon mocked.

"Heck no!" ExVeemon growled. _"Vee-Laser!"_

" _Pyro Darts!"_

" _Pyro Blaster!"_

Devimon laughed as the attacks slammed against his chest, knees and thighs. "How ridiculous! You can't harm me with such weak attacks!"

"I'll show him weak attacks," Nefertimon seethed. She flew to higher ground so Devimon couldn't crush her friends and let TK and Shoutmon off her back, then flew at the fallen angel Digimon's face. _"Rosetta Stone!"_

She fired a stone slab that struck Devimon's forehead. This did nothing more than get his attention. "Right between the eyes," he taunted. "Nice shot." His hand shot out and grabbed her. "Now its my turn. Here's aiming for a hole in one."

He threw her to the ground, and she slammed into it hard enough to form a crater.

"Kari, no!" Greymon cried.

"Don't worry about her now, she'll survive," Agunimon told him. "Lets all try fire attacks. _Pyro Punch!"_

" _Fire Blaster!"_ Growlmon cried, breathing a stream of fire.

Greymon's _Nova Blast_ and ExVeemon's _Hearty Shatter_ joined the mix, the various fire attacks joining together to create one large stream of fire. It flowed over Devimon, and he recoiled from the flames, his wings folding around himself for protection.

When the attacks ceased, he opened his wings, still grinning. "That was a good try, but it's useless. _Death Hand!"_

He held out his hand and a wave of unholy energy flowed out of it. It hit the Digimon, sending all four of them crashing into the rock wall that TK and Shoutmon stood at the top of. The former quickly dropped to his knees and called down to them. "Hang in their guys! I have faith in you!"

Devimon looked up at him. "You keep quiet, you little pest. You can't even fight."

With a battle cry, Nefertimon flew out of the crater. She used her _Golden Noose_ and began wrapping it tightly around Devimon's body. He growled as it squeezed him, and she began firing her _Queen's Paw_ at him, pelting the giant Digimon with her exploding projectiles.

The scowl on Devimon's face shifted into an arrogant sneer. With a grunt, he burst free of his bindings. He swiped at Nefertimon, but she flew out of the path of his large hand.

Greymon was now on his feet again. He ignited his horns with his _Fire Horn_ attack and charged at Devimon, head-butting into his leg. Devimon growled down at him and kicked outward, knocking the dinosaur Digimon back.

"Try this!" Growlmon cried. _"Dragon Slash!"_

The blade of plasma struck Devimon, getting his attention. He lashed out with his _Death Claw_ attack, using his hand as a spear. Nefertimon chose that moment to fire another _Rosetta Stone_ , putting more power in it to increase its size, hitting Devimon in the side of the head. It threw off his aim, and his pointy fingers stabbed into the ground in front of Growlmon rather than into the dinosaur Digimon.

Agunimon immediately rushed over. He jumped onto Devimon's arm and used his _Fire Dash_ to race up it, leaving a trail of fire along his limb. When he reached Devimon's head, he used his _Pyro Tornado_ , kicking the fallen angel Digimon in the face and creating a tornado of fire around his head and neck.

Devimon grunted and swatted at the fire wizard Digimon, knocking him away. While he was distracted, Nefertimon flew down to his right leg and wrapped her _Golden Noose_ around it. She pulled hard, yanking the rope back. Devimon dropped to one knee as his leg was pulled out from under him.

ExVeemon used the opportunity to fly overhead and began firing _Vee-Laser_ after _Vee-Laser_ at him. Devimon looked up at him, sneering, and unleashed his _Dark Contract_ , sending out a cloud of cursed energy. ExVeemon covered his mouth as the black cloud flowed over him, but still felt his energy beginning to drain.

Devimon's hand shot through the cloud, grabbing the dragon Digimon. "Got you now."

"Let him go!" Growlmon demanded. _"Dragon Kick!"_

He jumped and kicked Devimon's other leg, kicking him right in the kneecap, then hit the same spot with his tail. And then, just for good measure, he used his _Growl Claw_ attack to swipe at the area.

Devimon's other leg gave out, and he completely toppled over, his hands going out to stop his fall. ExVeemon, still in his hand, was pulled out of the dark cloud, giving him a small reprieve.

" _Critical Crunch!"_ he cried, biting deeply into Devimon's hand.

The fallen angel Digimon grunted, but didn't release him. Instead, he tightened his grip, tearing an agonized groan from the dragon Digimon.

"Agunimon," Greymon called to his companion as he charged at Devimon's hand.

"Got it," the fire wizard Digimon replied, attacking from the other direction.

With Greymon using his _Great Antler_ attack and Agunimon using his _Crimson Knuckle_ , they slammed into the hand holding ExVeemon, crushing Devimon's wrist. He released the dragon Digimon, but his other hand now reached for them. "Come here, you pests."

" _Fire Wall!"_ Greymon cried, spewing a wall of fire. Devimon pulled his hand back as the flames rose, separating him from the Digimon, allowing them to place some distance away from their enemy.

"You ok, ExVeemon?" Agunimon asked.

The dragon Digimon massaged his side. "Yeah, I'm good. I feel like he crushed my ribs, but I'm good."

Laughing, Devimon rose to his full height again. "You humans are pathetic. You're only delaying the inevitable.

"Yeah, well, we could say the same," Growlmon shot back. "Cover your ears, guys, this is going to hurt. _"Howling!"_

His attack cry transitioned into an ear splitting howl that had his friends pressing their hands over their ears as hard as they could. The sound emitted in Devimon's direction; whose much larger eardrums rang out painfully. He snarled his disapproval and covered his own ears, and that's when Nefertimon flew in from behind.

Using her _Golden Noose_ , she lassoed it around Devimon's neck like a leash and collar. Flying forward, she yanked on it hard, attempting to pull Devimon along. He took a stumbling step forward, but was able to hold his ground.

Grasping the rope, he pulled on it hard, yanking the holy beast Digimon back towards him. _"Deadly Nails!"_

He slashed at the air, his claws scratching Nefertimon and severing the rope. She cried out and dropped to the ground. Her friends immediately rushed over to make sure she was all right as Devimon ripped the remainder of the rope off his neck.

"This is ridiculous!" Agunimon exclaimed. "How are we supposed to beat this guy?"

Devimon grinned. "You can't, and it's about time you realized that. All you can do is die. Your fates were decided the moment you chose to stand against me."

Greymon's eyes narrowed. "I don't believe that. Come on, guys, lets hit him with everything we've got. _Nova Blast!"_

" _Vee-Laser!"_

" _Pyro Punch!"_

" _Pyro Blaster!"_

" _Rosetta Stone!"_

The five attacks flew at Devimon, exploding against his chest. The combined power sent him falling backwards, and he crashed into the rock wall, sliding down it.

"Yeah, we got him!" Growlmon cheered.

Groaning, Devimon rose to his feet and scowled at his nemeses. "That was pretty impressive, humans, but you're way out of your league. _Evil Wing!"_

His wings stretched out, and streams of red energy were fired from them. The other Digimon cried out as the attack blasted them. TK and Shoutmon could only look on in horror as their friends were lost in the blast.

As the smoke cleared, an evil grin crept up Devimon's face as he looked down at his defeated opponents. They were in bad shape, and seemingly down for the count after his last attack.

"Well, well," he taunted, "it looks like you've reached your limit. Can't say I'm surprised. After all, it doesn't matter what form you take, you're still just a bunch of weak, pathetic humans."

He reached out, picking one of them up, and Growlmon soon found himself held up to Devimon's face.

"Still," the fallen angel Digimon continued, "I may find use for you yet. As humans, I wonder how you would react when implanted with one of my black gears."

Growlmon's eyes narrowed. "How's this for an implant! _Dragon Spine!"_

He fired hairs from the white mane that ran down his neck. They stabbed into Devimon's face, making him scowl in frustration. He reached up and brushed the needles away before carelessly tossing the dinosaur Digimon back at the others.

"On second thought, you humans are more trouble than you're worth. Better to just kill you right now and end this." He held up his hand, and it began to glow with unholy energy as he prepared to unleash his _Death Hand_.

"No!" TK shouted, and leapt off the ledge.

Shoutmon's eyes bugged out and his mouth dropped open. "What are you doing, you idiot?"

Devimon looked up as the blonde boy fell towards him. A grin spread across his face as he reached up, his large hand completely closing around TK. "Fine, you can die first. I'll crush you like a bug."

"TK!" the others cried, helpless to aid him.

Devimon sneered at them. "Say goodbye to your friend."

But as he began to squeeze, it wasn't the crushing of meat and bones that he felt. Rather, a painful burning singed his hand, wiping the grin right off his face as beams of light shined through the space between his fingers.

He couldn't hold on any longer and was forced to let go. "What is this?"

The shining egg-shaped cocoon of Fractal Code floated in the air, obscuring the blonde boy inside. From within the light, TK's voice rang out for them all to hear. _"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Angemon!"_

The egg burst open and the light vanished. Floating in the air was an angel Digimon. About as tall as Devimon had been before his unnatural growth, Angemon seemed to be the polar opposite of the fallen angel Digimon. He was shirtless, his upper-body covered in pure white feathers, and he had six angel-like wings growing from his back. A helmet covered his head, hiding his eyes, as long orange hair flowed down his back from beneath it.

The other Digimon stared at him in amazement.

"Whoa, incredible," said Growlmon.

"Is that really TK?" Agunimon asked.

"No, he's Angemon now," Greymon replied. "He finally Spirit Evolved."

Nefertimon's eyes were shining in awe. "He's so beautiful."

Despite the situation, ExVeemon's eyes twitched irritably. "I'm still better…" he muttered.

Devimon, however, didn't look as impressed. "So, you finally managed to do it. It doesn't matter, you'll die along with the others."

Angemon just stared at the fallen angel Digimon, his expression unchanging. "No, Devimon. This is where your reign of terror ends. Your evil deeds stop here. It's time for you to pay for all the suffering you've caused."

Devimon threw back his head and laughed. "You think that you can stop me when all your friends failed? Don't be foolish. Just because you're a Digimon now too doesn't mean you have what it takes to defeat me."

The angel Digimon glared at him beneath his helmet, somehow able to see through it. "The light always conquers the darkness. Even the smallest flicker will light up the shadows."

He held up his staff. It began glowing with a golden light. Placing the end against his fist, he pressed it into his hand, converting it into energy until the staff completely fazed into his clenched fist. "The time has come for you to feel the power of the light."

"How preposterous," Devimon scoffed. "Your puny light can't stop me. I'll just snuff it out. Come here, pretty boy."

His hand shot out to grab the angel Digimon. Angemon flew around it and sped towards the fallen angel Digimon. He flew towards Devimon's torso, aiming for the red mark of evil imprinted on his chest.

" _Hand of Fate!"_

He punched Devimon in the chest, right over his black heart, and unleashed his attack. Devimon cried out as a beam of energy erupted from Angemon's fist. It tore through his body and burst out his back in a bright gold beam. From out of his back, the black gears he had absorbed flowed out of his body. One by one, they were obliterated.

Angemon's attack died down, and Devimon roared. He grasped at his chest where he had ben hit, smoke emitting from the entrance and exit point of the golden beam. He dropped to his hands and knees, his wings drooping at his sides, and began to shrink.

"Look, he's getting smaller," ExVeemon stated.

"Yes," Greymon observed. "Without the black gears inside him, he's lost his power boost."

"Angemon, that was amazing!" Nefertimon cheered.

Agunimon gave him a thumbs up. "Yeah, you the mon."

Angemon gave them a tired smile, having used up nearly all his energy in his attack. "I'm glad you're ok." His smile became a frown as he looked back at their enemy. "But I'm afraid we're not done yet."

Devimon had reverted back to his original size, but he was still very much alive. Yet he was badly wounded from Angemon's attack, and he had lost the size advantage and increased power the black gears had given him.

"How could this happen?" he seethed. "How could a bunch of human children posing as Digimon defeat me?"

Said human children surrounded him on all sides, not one of them sympathizing with the evil Digimon.

"It's all over, Devimon," Greymon told him. "You're evil ways are at an end."

Devimon looked up at them, seeing how united they were in their friendship. Yet a sadistic grin crept up his face, and he began laughing maniacally. "No, you fools, you're the ones who are finished. Do you honestly think you've won? No, you've merely started down a path that will lead to your inevitable destruction."

ExVeemon just scoffed at this. "Yeah right. You're so full of it."

Devimon just laughed again. "But it's true. You've made an enemy out of the forces of darkness. You'll never be able to turn back now. And there are other Digimon out there far more powerful than me. You haven't won anything at all. And I can't wait for you to realize it."

He roared with laughter, the confidence of his claim, even as he lay defeated, making the teens feel uneasy, and they shared wary looks.

ExVeemon's eyes narrowed. "Alright, I've had enough of this freak. Lets finish this. _Vee-Laser!"_

" _Nova Blast!"_

" _Pyro Blaster!"_

" _Pyro Punch!"_

" _Beam of Isis!"_

" _Hand of Fate!"_

The attacks flew at the fallen angel Digimon from all sides. He kept laughing as his body burst into data, and even then his laughter remained as it echoed off the rock walls before finally fading out.

"I got it!" Shoutmon cried, leaping off the ledge. He fell through Devimon's lingering data, absorbing it as he landed. Turning to the others, he gave them a smile. "You guys were awesome. I swear, there were times when I thought you were done for, but you guys held it together. Bravo."

Greymon turned back to Tai, completely wiped. The others followed his lead. "I gotta say, that was our toughest battle yet."

"Yeah, it was even worse than when we faced BigMamemon," Takuya agreed.

Shoutmon crossed his arms and humphed. "Yeah, well, you better be glad that he was under control of the black gear. If he had been in the right state of mind, or had it been a fight to the death, you wouldn't have stood a chance."

Kari frowned. "Then is it really true what Devimon said? That there are others out there so powerful that we won't stand a chance?"

"And did we really make ourselves their enemies by taking out Devimon?" Takato added.

Shoutmon closed his eyes and sighed. "Guys, I'm not going to lie to you. There are some Digimon out there that could have defeated the giant Devimon without so much as glancing in his direction. Why, a long time ago, a group of seven powerful Digimon nearly destroyed the entire Digital World. A few Digimon can even destroy whole dimensions if they wanted to."

He opened his eyes and gave them all serious looks. "And yes, you have indeed made some of them your enemies by defeating Devimon, and some of them will be after you now." He pointed out to the ocean upon the horizon. "The Digital World can be a very dangerous place, and once we reach one of the main continents, you'll face many of them. All the same, that is our destination. And if you want to get home, you'll have to face those dangers. It won't be easy, and it won't be fun, but it's the only way."

The teens looked out into the distance, the true ramifications of their journey finally and fully sinking in for the first time. Yet Shoutmon was right. If they wanted to get home, there was only one road they could take.

Tai sighed. "We really have no choice then. It looks like we're going on an adventure full of excitement and danger."

"Excitement for sure," Davis agreed. "We'll certainly have an interesting story to share by the time we get back."

"If we make it back," Takato pointed out. "I don't think any of us has any idea of what we're getting into."

"We'll make it," Kari assured him. "As long as we stick together, everything will be just fine."

Takuya chuckled. "I guess this really does make us the DigiDestined Data Squad."

Shoutmon's head snapped in his direction. "Does this mean you're accepting the title I bestowed upon you?"

Tai sighed heavily and smiled. "I guess we have no choice. But lets say the DigiDestined for short. DigiDestined Data Squad is a bit of a mouthful."

Shoutmon gave him a thumbs up. "You got it. DigiDestined, ho!"

They fell silent as they looked out at their unseen destination far across the ocean. The wind blowing completed the scene, as if it were something from out of a movie. There was just one problem that prevented the scene from being perfect.

"Hey, guys," TK mumbled, still in his Angemon form, "a little help here."

 **(A/N: Hooray, Devimon has finally been defeated, and the team is finally complete. I'm sure many of you predicted what would happen, especially if you saw Season 1. And that brings an end to the Devimon Arc. But not to worry, there's still plenty more to come. Devimon was just the first of a long line of villains to come. Not all arcs will be as long as this one though. I'm actually surprised how long this one turned out to be. And as the story progresses from here, it will become more original, but I will still be using plot points from the different Seasons. So I hope your ready for more, because the next update will be jumping right into the next arc, so stay tuned, and I'll see you next time.)**

 **Angemon's attacks:**

 **Hand of Fate** **– _Fires a beam of energy from his fist_** _ **.**_

 **Angel Rod ****– _Attacks with his staff_** _ **.**_

 **Omni Typhoon ****– _Creates a tornado_** _ **.**_

 **Angel Staff ****– _Spins his staff to block attacks_** _ **.**_

 **Halo Attack ****– _Draws a halo overhead to trap an enemy and cut them in half_** _ **.**_

 **Angel Slam ****– _Slams an enemy to the ground_** _ **.**_

 **Staff Sweep ****– _Trips an enemy with his staff_** _ **.**_

 **Holy Shot ****– _Fires bullets of energy from his fingers_** _ **.**_

 **Celestial Rod ****– _Throws staff like a spear_** _ **.**_

 **Glide ****– effects unknown.**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _DOT _**in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Angemon**


	19. Chapter 19: Out To Sea

**(A/N: Sorry for the delay, I had some computer trouble. So, last time, the Devimon arc came to a close. We're now getting into the next arc of our adventure. And now we have a complete team. But we still got a long way to go. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the next chapter. It's a bit of a filler, but leads into the main story.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Chapter 19: Out To Sea**

BlueMeramon had been true to his word when he said that the teens, or the DigiDestined as they now called themselves, would be accepted as friends and allies if they got rid of Devimon.

He also kept his promise about personally building them a boat to sail across the ocean on. He let the teens recuperated in the caves of Infinity Mountain while he and the others got to work. And by the next day, they were almost ready to set sale.

"Let me ask you guys something," said Takato. "If three of us can fly, why don't we just carry those of us that can't across the ocean?"

Davis cut his eyes at him. "You're just saying that because you're one of the ones who can't fly. Lazy."

Takato waved his arms. "No, no! I'm just saying that it probably save a lot of time. I mean, why build a boat when we could just fly?"

"For the same reason we didn't Spirit Evolve when we scaled up Infinity Mountain," Tai told him. "We don't want to risk our Digivices running out of power when we really need them. You want to be flying over the middle of the ocean and suddenly lose our Digimon forms? Or what if we run into another bad Digimon and can't activate our Digivices because we used up all the energy?"

Takato sweat-dropped. "Uh, right. I knew there was a good reason." His nervous smile became a sad frown. "But we've already been here for about a month. Everyone back home must be worried sick."

"It can't be helped," TK told him. "If we don't take precautions, we might not get home at all. Our priority should be on getting home safely, not getting home fast. I agree with Tai, we should only use our Digivices when we absolutely need to, like if there's danger."

Shoutmon stared at the boat skeptically. "Can we even go anywhere on this pile of splinters?" He kicked the boat harder than what was necessary to test its sturdiness. "It doesn't look that secure."

From around the other side of the boat, Renamon came walking over. "It may not look like much, but I can promise you that it will hold together."

Shoutmon practically had hearts in his eyes as he stared at the fox Digimon. "Of course, Renamon, whatever you say."

The teens chuckled, but their laughter was interrupted by a _hmph_ from Grumblemon. "Wannabe king should show more gratitude for all our hard work."

Shoutmon snapped out of it and glared at him. "Hard work my foot. We defeated the evil tyrant that's been taking over the island, and freed those under his control, including your friend, BigMamemon. You built a raft."

Grumblemon looked over at BigMamemon, who was helping to assemble the mast, before glaring at Shoutmon. "You didn't do no work. It was your human pets that did everything."

Takato blinked. "Did he just refer to us as Shoutmon's pets?"

Shoutmon growled. "Yeah, well, I've been their guide since the beginning, plus I was the one who gave them their powers. Without me, they would have been dead long ago."

The gnome Digimon looked ready for a fight. "I can make you dead right now."

"Bring it on, big nose!"

A blue fireball flew in between them. "That is enough," BlueMeramon growled. "There is no reason for any of us to be fighting. Grumblemon, we owe these folks a debt of gratitude, so be grateful. And Shoutmon, if you have an issue with the boat we've made, I would like you to tell me so that we may make revisions. I gave my word that I would build you a vessel across the ocean, and I intend to keep it."

Before he could reply, Tai came up behind Shoutmon and placed a hand on his head. "He's got no issue with it, he just likes to be difficult."

BlueMeramon considered this. "Are you certain? I want everything to be to your satisfaction."

"No, it looks great," Kari told him. "It's even better than I hoped for."

The flame Digimon smiled. "I am glad you are pleased. We are just adding the finishing touches. If you want, you can head out now."

"What? Right now?" Takato asked.

"If that is your decision."

"Awesome," said Tai. "Cherubimon's castle, here we come."

The Digimon gathered around to bid the teens goodbye. Renamon was one of the first ones in line to wish them well. "I hope you have a safe journey, and I wish you the best of luck in getting home."

"Thank you, Renamon," said Tai, shaking her hand. "We really owe you a lot."

"No more than we owe you."

Shoutmon was not among the teens saying their goodbyes. Instead, he sat in a fetal position on the boat with tears in his eyes, occasionally muttering, "Renamon…"

BlueMeramon held out his hand to shake Tai's as well. The boy looked at it hesitantly before slowly taking it, relieved when he wasn't burned. BigMamemon was after him, but with his hands literally on top of his head, he couldn't shake Tai's. "I owe you humans a big thank you for freeing me from that black gear. If it weren't for you, I would still be Devimon's puppet."

"Hey, it was nothing," Takuya assured him. "If someone needs help, it's only natural to help them."

The mutant Digimon grinned stupidly. "Well, thanks to you, File Island can get back to normal."

"Speaking of normal," said TK, "how long until the island is back in commission?"

BlueMeramon raised an eyebrow. "You mean before the breakaway sections can be used to travel back and forth between here and the mainland?" At TK's nod he replied, "The Digital World is self-repairing. Now that Devimon is no longer using the black gears for evil they can resume their true purpose soon. It should only take a few weeks for the island to recover."

Kari smiled. "Well, that's good. I'm glad Devimon didn't do any permanent damage."

After several more fond farewells, the teens were ready to shove off. They climbed aboard the boat, and BigMamemon gave them a push into the water until they were in deep enough for the boat to float.

"Ta-ta!" the mutant Digimon waved.

They drifted away from the shore, those on the beach getting smaller and smaller. And when they were certain to be out of earshot, Tai turned to Shoutmon. "You know, it was rather rude of you not to say goodbye to everyone."

With tears still in his eyes, he rounded on the spikey haired teen. "How could I possibly say goodbye? My duty is tearing me from my beloved Renamon's arms." He placed his hand over his heart. "Alas, a king must sometimes make difficult decisions for the sake of the public. But I swear, one day I will return and reclaim my love!"

Kari chuckled. "Well, we really appreciate you putting your love life on hold for us."

Shoutmon aggressively wiped his eyes. "Well, no use in dwelling on heartache now. We've got a long journey ahead of us." He jumped to his feet and hopped to the top of the ship, climbing the mast and sitting in the crow's nest. "Steady as she goes! Keep a weathered eye on the horizon!"

Tai cut his eyes at him. "Wonder how long he's been wanting to say that."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"Please tell me we're almost there," Davis grumbled as he hung his head and arms over the side of the boat, looking like he was going to be sick again.

"Davis," Kari sighed, "we've only been sailing for a couple of hours. It'll be several days, if not weeks, before we reach the mainland."

He groaned. "Remind me why we can't fly there again."

Takuya rolled his eyes and looked at Takato, who was currently fishing. "Catch anything?"

The younger boy shook his head. "No, not yet. Hey, Shoutmon, are you sure there are actually fish we can catch?"

The dragon Digimon nodded. "Of course, and if you don't believe me, ask Kari."

"If you're referring to the time you ate BlackAgumon's dinner, then yes, there are fish."

TK crossed his arms. "How does that work? Fish aren't Digimon. How are they in this world?"

Shoutmon shrugged. "They're digital fish. What do you want me to say? We have a few animal-like creatures here that aren't Digimon, just as we have rocks, trees, water, and all that stuff. They come from the data flows that makes up the Digital World."

Davis groaned again. "I don't get it, but I don't really care right now."

Tai snickered and glanced at Takato. "Don't worry so much about catching fish. The others gave us plenty of food and water to last the trip. If we ration it out, we should be fine."

Remaining deep in concentration, Takato did not take his eyes off his handcrafted fishing pole. "Yeah, I know, but it'll be nice to have a little something extra, just in case we-" There was a tug on his pole, and his eyes widened. "Hey, I think I got something!"

He jumped to his feet and pulled his goggles down over his eyes. He did indeed have a bite, and the line was circling around violently in the water. "Man, he's a strong one," he growled, straining to pull it in. "He must be huge."

The others gathered around to cheer him on. Since the pole was handmade from a stick and a piece of string, he couldn't reel it in, and was forced to resort to simply yanking on it.

"Come on, man, you can do it!" Takuya cheered.

"Just be careful," said Kari, remembering her encounter with Seadramon.

Takato grit his teeth, his face turning red from the strain. Behind him, Davis stumbled over to get a look at the action just as Takato gave one final yank. The fish was pulled out of the water, and smacked into Davis' face with a wet slap, knocking him off his feet. For all the effort it took to bring it in, the fish was no bigger than Takato's hand.

"Wow, great job, Takato," Takuya teased. "That one's a keeper. Real good eats."

The younger boy pouted. "Aww, man, and he felt like such a big guy too."

TK knelt down by Davis' side. "You ok there, Davis?"

Dizzy stars swirled in the boy's eyes. "I'm not really in the mood for fish."

Takato picked up the flopping yellow fish. "Well, at least this will save one of us a meal."

Shoutmon produced his mic. "Give it here, I'll whack it."

"Drop that fish!"

They turned to the water to find a Digimon that resembled a white seal with a crop of red hair glaring angrily at them. With a scowl on his face, the Digimon pointed angrily with a flipper containing finger-like claws at the end. "If you know what's good for you, you'll let my friend go right now."

Kari quickly checked her Digivice. "Gomamon, Rookie level, special attack _Marching Fishes_."

The seal Digimon leapt out of the water and onto the boat. "Yeah, that's right, I'm Gomamon, and that's my friend you're holding. Let her go, or you'll be in for a world of pain."

Takato held his hands up in surrender. "Ok, ok, sorry. Look, I'm putting it back."

"Her!"

"Right, I'm putting her back."

He carefully removed the fish from the hook, then tossed it into the water. Gomamon watched it disappear beneath the surface before turning to Takato again. "Thank you, and next time you decide to have some fun, try picking an activity that doesn't involve luring an innocent creature with some food before yanking a metal hook through the roof of its mouth to pull it to where it can't breathe."

"Yeouch," TK muttered. "I guess we never thought of it that way."

"Yeah," Kari agreed, "when you word it that way, it does sound pretty cruel."

Their guest seemed to deflate a bit. "Well, just as long as you've learned your lesson, I guess I can forgive you. I understand the need to eat, just not my friends." He looked the teens up and down. "What kind of creatures are you anyway? I've never seen anything like you before."

"Oh, we're nothing special," Davis replied, finally sitting up and wiping his face. "Just a couple of humans far from home."

"Humans, huh? That's strange. What are you doing here?"

Tai placed a hand on his hip. "Trying to find our way back home. But we've got to get to the mainland."

"And since we have a limited amount of food, we thought if we caught a few fish, we could increase our rations," Takato explained, hoping this made the seal Digimon feel better."

"Hmm," Gomamon muttered. "Well, I'll tell you what, how about I help you guys along."

"Help us with what?" Kari asked.

"Get to the mainland, of course. You're on the right track, but I'll speed things up a bit." He crawled over to the side of the boat. _"Marching Fishes!"_

All around the boat, the water began to bubble and foam. Hundreds of different color fish suddenly poked their heads out of the water, gathering closely around the boat. The teens stared in disbelief at all the aquatic life.

"Ok, Marching Fishes," Gomamon cried, "lets go!"

The boat jolted forward, nearly knocking the teens over as the speed increased. No longer drifting on the current and being blown by the wind, the hundreds of fish pushed, pulled, and carried the boat along at top speed.

"Whoa!" Davis cried. "Now this is what I'm talking about!"

"This is amazing," TK awed. "How are you doing this?"

Gomamon gave him a smile. "All these fish are my friends. They'll come whenever I call. This'll get you guys there much faster."

"Hey, thanks a lot," said Tai. "We really appreciate this."

"Ah, don't mention it. Happy to be of help."

Takato cautiously approached the side. "Wow, look at them go. Hey, yellow fish, I'm sorry I caught you."

Gomamon chuckled. "I'll pass along the message for you. Just make sure you don't do it again."

"Oh, I don't think you need to worry about that," Takuya replied. "This is much more useful."

Shoutmon humphed as his stomach growled. "I would have preferred the meal."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

The fish continued to pull the boat along through the night, even with Gomamon lying belly up and snoring even louder than Davis. Tai couldn't sleep. Maybe it was the movement of the boat, or maybe it was just being out on the open ocean. Or perhaps it was the unknown of whatever was waiting for them when they reached the mainland. Whatever it was, it caused sleep to evade him.

He stood at the front of the boat, looking out upon the horizon. In his hand, he gripped his Digivice. He looked down at it, staring at the image of Agumon on the screen. His grip on it tightened at the frightening possibility of the dangerous events that could happen.

' _What if I can't protect everyone? What if we never get home?'_

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Tai yelped and nearly dropped his Digivice into the water. He juggled with it for a few second before he managed to close his fingers around it securely.

Sighing, he turned angrily to his sister. "Kari, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

She chuckled. "Sorry." She walked over to him. "So what are you still doing up?"

He looked out at the ocean once more. "I don't know. Just thinking about what's waiting for us on the mainland, I guess."

Kari sat down, letting her legs hang over the side of the boat. "You shouldn't worry about it too much. Whatever happens will happen _Que sera sera_."

Tai rolled his eyes. He wished he'd had his sister's faith, but the truth was Devimon's final words had rattled him. What if they did run into an enemy that was too powerful for them to beat? It had taken all of them to defeat Devimon, and he had only been a Champion. Shoutmon had even confirmed that there were Digimon so astronomically powerful that they could obliterate the whole world, even an entire dimension.

' _But then where would they live? Would they just be trapped in the vacuum of space once they're reborn? That would suck. I guess that's why no one has done it yet.'_

He also thought of the possibility of running into a hostile Ultimate or Mega. True, they may have defeated BigMamemon, but he'd been a low-powered Ultimate, and they had only freed him from the black gear that had been controlling them. If it had been a battle to the death, like it had been with Devimon or any of the others, he had no doubt that they would have fallen.

And if a weak Ultimate was that strong, how powerful was a Mega? And then there was that incredibly rare, super powerful level, the Ultra level as Shoutmon had called it.

"You know it won't do any good to worry about it too much," Kari told him. "We may not even run into any bad Digimon at all. And even if we do, I'm sure everything will work out. You've got to have faith."

Tai couldn't help but to smile, and he put away his Digivice. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But it's always good to be prepared." He sat down and hung his feet over the side as well, then laid back to look up at the sky. "All we can do is hope for the best, and be prepared for the worst."

Out in the water, several feet from the boat, a pair of large eyes watched the two humans. A big grin spread across the Digimon's face at the opportunity at hand.

"Oh, trust me," it said, "it's going to get worse."

 **(A/N: Looks like troubles brewing. Who is this mysterious observer, and what do they want? And are Tai's fears rational? That'll be a central part of this next arc. But it looks like they made a friend. I always felt that Gomamon got the short end of the straw in the anime. How will he be of help to our heroes? What danger is lurking around the corners, or beneath the waters to be more precise? Find out next time.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _DOT _**in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Gomamon**


	20. Chapter 20: Aquatic Attackers

**(A/N: Ok, after a bit of a cliffhanger, it's time to find out who was spying on our heroes, and what they want. You know what they say, there's no rest for the weary, so lets dive in deep [pun intended], and start the next chapter.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Chapter 20: Aquatic Attackers**

"I'm telling you, they're easy pickings," the Rookie level Digimon known as Otamamon declared. "We can go right up to their and get them."

The two Champions considered this. Not too long ago, Otamamon had come swimming up to them and revealed that there were strange creatures on a boat in their master's waters. He didn't know what they were, but they were accompanied by two Rookie level Digimon.

"They are fools to pass through these waters," said the Digimon that resembled a shark. "Why would they risk the master's wrath?"

Otamamon rolled his eyes. "Cause they're stupid land dwellers, that's why. They have no right coming into the master's territory. So lets go teach them a lesson."

The Digimon resembling a stingray glared at him. "You mean that _we_ should teach them a lesson while you sit off on the side and claim the credit."

"Well," the tadpole Digimon drawled, "I _did_ find them. I deserve some credit. If we just let anyone pass through the master's waters like this, then people will start to think he's weak. We wouldn't want the master to lose face. It's our job to do something about it. Mantaraymon, you've got great speed on your side. You could take them out before they even realize they're under attack. And Tylomon, with your _Eraser Below_ attack, you could sink their boat like it's nothing."

Tylomon turned to his companion. "Should we inform the master?"

The stingray Digimon shook his head. "You know the master doesn't like to be bothered by such trivial things. Lets see what these trespassers are like before we risk angering him."

"I told you," Otamamon eagerly replied, "they're easy pickings."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"So how much further do you think we have to go?" Davis asked, looking out into the horizon.

Shoutmon shrugged. "A few days journey would be my guess." At the human's disappointed look, he grinned. "It's the ocean; did you think it would be small?"

Davis just grumbled. He wasn't getting seasick anymore, but he was incredibly bored.

"You should take this time to enjoy the peace and quiet," Takuya told him. "There's no telling what we'll run into when we reach the mainland."

"But whatever it is, we'll face it as a team," TK added.

Davis placed his hands on his hips, grinning smugly. "Well, if anyone tries to mess with me, I'll just give them a little _Vee-Laser_ action."

"So scary," Gomamon muttered sarcastically. "And I still don't believe that you guys can turn into Digimon."

"But we can," Takato insisted. "As long as our Digivices' power holds out."

"Yeah, right. I'll believe that when I see it."

"Hopefully, you won't have to," Tai replied. "We don't want any unnecessary fighting."

Kari giggled. "Who cares about fighting on a day like today? The weather's so nice."

Tai glanced at his sister. She was sitting down with her feet hanging over the side like she had been last night, only now she had her socks and shoes off. "What are you doing, Kari?"

She pointed to the fish as they stirred up bubbles and sent water droplets spraying over her bare feet. "It tickles."

TK came over to see. "What, the fish?" He reached down, feeling the bubbles and droplets against his hand, making him smile. "Hey, yeah, it does tickle."

Davis scowled as he watched the two of them. "Careful you don't fall in," he grumbled.

He meant it to be sarcastic, but his warning proved true when a long tentacle suddenly latched onto TK's wrist and pulled him in.

Kari gasped. "TK!"

"See," Davis replied. "I told him to be careful."

"No," Kari cried, jumping to her feet, "something pulled him in!"

Without hesitation, she dove into the water. Tai called his sister's name and ran over, ready to jump in as well. But the cry of _"Hydro Wave"_ , followed by a powerful horizontal ring of water stopped him. The water pressure sent Tai flying backwards, slamming into the mast, and falling to the deck, unconscious.

"Hey, what gives?" Davis demanded.

Gomamon's attention shifted in the direction the stream of water had come from. "We're under attack!"

The others looked to where he was looking, catching only a glimpse of what looked to be the fin of a shark before it submerged.

"Did you see that?" Takuya asked. "It looked like a giant, metal shark fin."

"Forget the stupid shark!" Takuya snapped. "Where are TK and Kari?"

Several long seconds passed before something burst up from out of the water. It was Nefertimon, and on her back, coughing up water, was TK.

Gomamon's eyes widened. "What the? Nefertimon? Where did she come from?"

"No, that's Kari," Takato told him. "She must have Spirit Evolved while underwater."

The seal Digimon still looked stunned. "Huh, I guess you weren't lying after all."

Up in the sky, TK sat up on Nefertimon's back, still coughing. She glanced at him over her shoulder. "Are you ok?"

He nodded. "Yeah, thanks for that."

" _Torpedo Ray!"_ came a cry from down below, and the stingray Digimon that had grabbed him shot out of the water, launching himself at Nefertimon. She swerved out of the way, and the attacking Digimon splashed back down into the water.

A distance away, Tylomon resurfaced and used his _Terror Spiral_ attack, creating a waterspout and sending it at the boat.

Takuya pulled out of his Digivice. _"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Agunimon!"_

As the tornado of water approached, Agunimon sent out his _Pyro Tornado_. The two vortexes collided with each other and burst into a cloud of steam.

Mantaraymon launched himself out of the water again at light speed, this time hitting Nefertimon. TK fell off her back, but quickly pulled out his Digivice as well. _"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Angemon!"_

Pulling out of his fall, he flew up to Nefertimon's side, just as the stingray Digimon shot out of the water at her again. Angemon held up his staff and used _Angel Rod_ to knock Mantaraymon back into the water.

"Hey, let me get in on this!" Davis cried. _"Execute! Spirit Evolution… ExVeemon!"_ Once his transformation was complete, he turned to the shark Digimon. _"Hearty Shatter!"_

Tylomon went back under and angrily went in search of his comrades, finding Mantaraymon already coming down on Otamamon. "You said they were easy pickings! You didn't say anything about them turning into Digimon!"

The tadpole Digimon backed away. "I didn't know! How could I have known?"

On the boat, Takato and Shoutmon were trying unsuccessfully to rouse Tai. "He's out like a light," the latter grumbled. "That was some blow to the head."

Gomamon growled, looking out at the water. "They're back."

The stingray and shark Digimon had resurfaced and were now watching the boat. The Marching Fish had already scattered, leaving the boat to once again float on the current.

Shoutmon's eyes narrowed as he got a proper look at them. "Tylomon and Mantaraymon. I thought I recognized their attacks."

"Sink them," Mantaraymon ordered.

" _Eraser Below!"_ Tylomon cried.

From in front of him, a tidal wave began to rise up and move towards the boat. Agunimon fired his _Pyro Punch_ , and the flaming dragon that flew from his fist exploded against the wave, blasting it apart.

" _Rosetta Stone!"_ Nefertimon cried, firing several stone slabs at the two aquatic Digimon.

They both went under, the stone slabs splashing into the water. A moment later, Mantaraymon used his _Torpedo Ray_ , shooting out of the water. ExVeemon deliberately moved in its path and fired his _Vee-Laser_ , but the attack bounced right off the stingray Digimon's body, and he slammed into the dragon Digimon, tackling him out of the air, and ExVeemon splashed into the water.

" _Fiery Fastball!"_ Shoutmon cried, throwing the attack at Mantaraymon before he hit the water. "Darn it, I missed."

Tylomon leapt into the air right in front of him. "But I won't. _Tilt Anchor!"_

His tail slammed into Shoutmon, sending him flying into Agunimon. The fire wizard Digimon caught him, but he was left dazed from the hit.

"I'll show you!" Agunimon snapped, setting down the dragon Digimon. _"Pyro Punch!"_

" _Hydro Wave!"_ Tylomon countered, spinning around.

A fiery dragon flew from Agunimon's fist as the shark Digimon's spinning sent out rings of water. It cut through Agunimon's attack, and he held up his arms to defend against it, but was still knocked back.

ExVeemon swam over to the boat and climbed on board as Agunimon got back to his feet. "How you holding up?"

The dragon Digimon growled. "It's hard to fight them since they can keep going under. Why couldn't one of us be water-based?"

Takato looked up. "I wish I could fight, but I don't know if the boat could handle my weight as Growlmon. Should I risk it?"

Agunimon shook his head. "No, we don't want to get stuck out here if the boat sinks. Just take care of Tai."

Gomamon hopped over to them. "Perhaps I can help. _Marching Fishes!"_

The water began bubbling, and hundreds of thousands of fish surfaced, forcing Mantaraymon and Tylomon above water.

"Excellent!" Angemon declared. "And now, _Omni Typhoon!"_

A powerful wind picked up, swirling around and around. A tornado formed, sucking up the two enemy Digimon, along with several of the fish.

"Time for some target practice," said Nefertimon. _"Rosetta Stone!"_

She fired the stone slabs into the tornado, missing a few times as Tylomon and Mantaraymon spun around. She finally hit one, then the other a few shots later, knocking them out of the tornado. As they fell, Angemon used his _Holy Shot_ to fire energy bullets at them from his finger.

Tylomon and Mantaraymon splashed back into the water. The former resurfaced, his eyes burning furiously. "Alright, say goodbye to your boat. _Torpedo Attack!"_

True to the attack's name, he launched torpedoes at the boat. ExVeemon and Agunimon fired their _Vee-Laser_ and _Pyro Darts_ at the missiles, but only the dragon Digimon hit his target, the wave from the explosion causing Agunimon to miss his target.

"I got it!" Gomamon cried, jumping into the water. _"Bubble Barrier!"_

He blew a bubble. It expanded until it was larger than him, and he was sucked inside. The torpedo hit the bubble and was repelled, bouncing off into another direction.

"Whoa, that was awesome," ExVeemon told him. "Nice job."

Gomamon smile dup at him. "Aww, it was nothing."

" _Tail Booster!"_

The pointy end of Mantaraymon's tail shot out, puncturing the bubble and causing it to pop. It wrapped around Gomamon, the end piercing his shoulder, causing the seal Digimon to cry out as he was electrified.

"Gomamon!" the others shouted.

ExVeemon rushed over, grabbing Mantaraymon's tail and using his _Critical Crunch_ , chomping down on it. The stingray Digimon cried out and released Gomamon, who splashed into the water.

"Here, guys," ExVeemon cried, spinning Mantaraymon around by the tail, "have at him!"

He threw the stingray Digimon up into the air. Nefertimon and Angemon fired their _Beam of Isis_ and _Hand of Fate_ , the two attacks pushing Mantaraymon back down. That's when Agunimon used his _Pyro Punch_. The fire dragon soared up towards the stingray Digimon and exploded against him. Mantaraymon was lost in the blast, but his lingering data was briefly seen when the explosion died down.

"You'll pay for that!" Tylomon declared. _"Hydro Wave!"_

His spinning sent more rings of water shooting outward towards Agunimon. Angemon came down and used his _Angel Staff_ , spinning around his staff to deflect the attack.

Growling, Tylomon sped towards the boat. "I'll slice your puny dingy in two. _Shark Fin Blade!"_

His fin glowed as he sped towards the boat. Angemon fired his _Hand of Fate_ , but Tylomon's attack cut straight through the beam and kept coming. That's when Nefertimon swooped down and snagged the shark Digimon with her _Golden Noose_. Tylomon was lifted out of the water, just a few feet away from cutting the boat in half.

"Release me, you filth!" the shark Digimon demanded, thrashing around in the air.

"Oh, we'll release you all right," ExVeemon growled up at him. "Come on, guys, lets give this guy release. _Vee-Laser!"_

" _Hand of Fate!"_

" _Pyro Punch!"_

The three attacks struck simultaneously. Tylomon cried out as he felt his body start to dissolve into data. "Noooo! The master will make you pay for this!"

And then he was gone. Shoutmon jumped onto Angemon and used one of his wings like a diving board to leap up and absorb the data before doing a cannonball into the water.

He came up and spat out a mouthful of water. "Nice one, guys. Two more baddies down for the count."

He swam back over to the boat as Nefertimon and Angemon returned to the deck and all four teens resumed human form.

"Tai, Gomamon?" Kari asked in worriedly.

Takato was beside Tai after having pulled Gomamon out of the water and lying him down next to the unconscious teen. "It looks like Tai's ok," he told her. "He's got a bump on the head, and he's out cold, but I think he'll be alright. Gomamon though," he looked at their new friend, "he's in pretty bad shape. Mantaraymon stabbed him with his tail and electrocuted him."

The seal Digimon groaned. "I'll be fine. I just can't move right now."

Shoutmon nodded. "A side effect of Mantaraymon's attack. It causes paralysis. It'll wear off soon enough. Just hang on until then."

Gomamon smiled. "Don't worry, I'm tougher than this. But I don't think I'll be able to summon my fish friends to move the boat."

"Forget the boat!" TK snapped. He tore off a piece of cloth from the mast and tied it around Gomamon's wound. "You just focus on getting better."

The seal Digimon chuckled. "You know, for a bunch of fish-eating humans, you guys aren't so bad."

Not everyone shared his opinion though. In the water, Otamamon looked on with wide eyes, unable to believe these strange creatures, humans, Gomamon called them, had been able to defeat Tylomon and Mantaraymon. They certainly weren't the pushovers he thought they were.

Eyes narrowing angrily, he glared at the boat. "You'll pay for this," he seethed before disappearing beneath the water.

 **(A/N: Yikes. Talk about a bad start on a new adventure. Tai and Gomamon are wounded, and Takato can't Digivolve without sinking the boat. Meaning Greymon won't be appearing either. They really should have considered the dangers of the ocean before setting out. What's Otamamon planning? And who is this master that he, Tylomon, and Mantaraymon serve? Could he be a new even greater enemy? All these questions and more will be answered soon enough, so make sure to stay tuned.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the _DOT _ in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Otamamon**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Tylomon**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Mantaraymon**


	21. Chapter 21: Scuba Divermon

**(A/N: Aaaaand we're back. Last time our heroes defeated Tylomon and Mantaraymon, but Otamamon got away. What are the consequences of his escape? And are Tai and Gomamon going to be ok after the injuries they received? Time to find find. I couldn't resist not using a pun for his chapter title. I'm sure you'll see why.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Chapter 21: Scuba Divermon**

"Divermon, Divermon, Divermon!" Otamamon shouted as he swam into the caves. "Divermon!"

There were many Digimon present that went by the name, all of the same species, yet somehow, in a way no human could ever understand, the specific one he was searching for knew that it was him Otamamon was calling, as did the other Divermon.

Swimming out to meet him, the aquatic beast Digimon known as Divermon gave his little friend a look of disapproval. "Silence, you fool! The master is sleeping! Do you want to get killed?"

Otamamon's hand flew to his mouth. "I'm sorry," he whispered, "but I have urgent news. There are humans in the Digital World."

Divermon just crossed his arms. "Humans? You mean those mythical creatures that come from that fictional other world? They're just make-believe."

Otamamon waved his arms. "No, they're real. I just saw them. They're passing through the master's waters on a boat."

Divermon's arms dropped. "What?"

"It's true!" Otamamon insisted. "I didn't know what they were at first, so I had Tylomon and Mantaraymon attack them, but they were both defeated. Before I came to find you, I heard a Digimon that was with them call them humans."

Divermon grabbed his friend. "And you didn't think to tell this to the master? He would want to know that humans were in his territory." He began shaking him. "And now you got two of his followers killed. He'll destroy you for this."

"I thought they'd be easy pickings," Otamamon argued back.

Sighing, Divermon released him. "We have to kill them before the master finds out. You know how unforgiving he is. Take me to these humans." A wicked grin spread across his ugly face. "I'll show them the power of an Ultimate."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Tai couldn't remember going to sleep, nor could he remember why his head hurt so much. The last thing he did remember was his sister jumping into the water to save TK. She was still down there. He had to save her!

"Kari!" he cried, bolting upright. He immediately wished he hadn't as it made the pounding in his head hurt even more.

His sister turned to look at him, looking fine, as did TK, who was standing beside her. "Oh, Tai, you're up. How do you feel?"

He rubbed his head. "Like someone dropped an anvil on my head."

"Well, you do have quite the bump there," Takuya told him. "We were afraid you got a concussion."

Tai felt around his head, feeling the bump. At least it wasn't bleeding. "No, it wasn't that serious. But what happened?"

Davis hopped down onto deck. "Oh, nothing much. We got attacked by a few bad Digimon, but it was nothing we couldn't handle."

Tai's eyes widened. "What? We were attacked?"

His look-alike held up his hands. "Hey, it's ok. We took care of it."

"But Gomamon got hurt," Takato said sadly.

"What? Where is he?"

He looked around, spotting the seal Digimon laying still with a cloth wrapped around his body. Tai stared at him in horror. Only the fact that he was still whole and hadn't burst into data reassured him that their new friend was still alive.

Tai dropped to his knees beside him. With shaky hands, he reached for the seal Digimon. "Gomamon, what have they done to you?"

One of Gomamon's eyes opened. "Do you mind? I'm trying to sleep here, and you're being really loud. I'll be fine, I just can't move right now."

Relief filled Tai. "Thank goodness. You scared me for a moment."

Davis waltzed over and patted him on the back. "See, everything is fine. We've got it all under control."

For some reason, Tai felt his temper rise. He wasn't angry with Davis, or any of his friends; he was angry with himself. They'd been fighting for their lives, and he'd been sleeping helplessly.

"Everything is fine?" he repeated, his voice steadily rising as he turned to his friends. "Everything is fine!" He knocked Davis' hand away. "How can you say that? Everything is not fine! Look at Gomamon! Does he look _fine_ to you?"

The others seemed taken aback by his sudden anger.

"Tai," said Takato, "what's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" the older boy snapped. "What do you think is wrong? We're lost in the middle of the ocean, an entire dimension away from home, with a bunch of monsters trying to kill us, that's what's wrong! And all we can do is travel halfway across the planet to find this Cherubimon, who _might_ be able to help us, while we play superhero whenever we're attacked! And now Gomamon is hurt! He got hurt, and I wasn't even there to do anything to help it!"

He furiously punched the wall, nearly splitting his knuckles even beneath his glove. He squeezed his eyes shut as he felt the shame of how useless he had been. He hadn't even known there'd been a battle going on because he'd been taking a nap, all because of a stupid bonk on the head.

The others continued to stare at him. They exchanged a few looks, uncertain of what to say.

"Tai," Takuya ventured, "it wasn't your fault. You were knocked out. You couldn't help it. It could have happened to any of us."

This didn't make him feel any better. "But it didn't; it happened to me."

"Even if it didn't, you couldn't have fought anyway," Takato told him. "Greymon's too big and too heavy. He might sink the ship. I didn't fight for that reason too."

Tai just shook his head. "I could have still done something. I could have turned into Greymon and fought in the water."

"Now you're being ridiculous," TK told him. "How would you fight two Champion Digimon as a dinosaur in the middle of the ocean? They would have just dragged you under and drowned you."

He knew that. Realistically, he knew he couldn't fight in the water against aquatic Digimon like that. Yet he refused to accept it. "Quit making excuses for me! It's my job protect everyone!"

Takuya took a step forward. "And who decided that? We're not your responsibility. You don't have to hold our hands."

"He's right, Tai," Kari told him. "This isn't like when you were the only one who could Spirit Evolve anymore. We can take care of ourselves now too. You don't have to worry about us so much."

He glared at her. "How can you say that? You're my little sister. I'm _supposed_ to look out for you."

"We all look out for each other," TK exclaimed, stepping forward to stand beside Kari. "That's what friends do, they have each others' back." He glanced at Kari, and gave her a smile, interlocking their fingers. "We care for and protect each other."

Tai's anger seemed to give way to depression as he glanced at Gomamon. "But I didn't. I couldn't protect anyone this time."

"Oh, wah," came Shoutmon's voice from up above. "Cry me a river, why don't you."

He hopped down from the crow's nest and landed in front of the brooding teen. He glared up at him and pointed an accusing finger at him. "You think you're the only one who's failed to protect someone they cared about? I lost my best friend long ago because I couldn't protect him. His name was Gumdramon, and I was too weak to save him. That was decades ago. He'll have long since hatched from his Digi-Egg, but I've never been able to find him to apologize. And you know what, he's not the only friend I've ever lost either.

"So you were out of it for a while and couldn't rise to the occasion. Big deal, at least your friends pulled through without you. You should be happy about that. But if you're really so upset about not being able to protect them, then concentrate on becoming stronger so this doesn't happen again."

He crossed his arms. "And take into consideration how your friends feel. They want to protect you just as much as you want to protect them. Try having a little more faith in them."

Tai stared down at the dragon Digimon, who continued to glare at him. He suddenly felt ashamed for the way he'd behaved. Shoutmon was absolutely right. He hadn't showed faith in his friends. He had believed that he would have to take on this whole burden alone, but that wasn't what friends did. They helped out and supported each other. That was what they had done when he was knocked out. _They_ had protected _him_.

But this also made him realize that they didn't know much about Shoutmon's past. As a creature with an unlimited lifespan and countless lives for when he did die, he must have lived a long, long time. What kinds of things had the dragon Digimon experienced? How much joy and heartache had he been through? Odds were, he had suffered and been through more than Tai could ever hope to imagine. There was no end to the stories he could tell.

"Shoutmon…" he said, leaning down to his level.

The movement had saved his life, because at that moment, a spear buried itself in the wall right where his head had been. The others gasped as Tai looked up, realizing how close he'd come to being skewered.

A cord at the end of the spear pulled it out, and the weapon was yanked back into the water. The teens turned to find Divermon sticking his ugly head out of the water. "So, you're the humans who defeated Tylomon and Mantaraymon." He hopped out of the water and onto the boat. "Funny, you don't look so tough."

On the floor, Gomamon growled. "Divermon, what are you doing here?"

The aquatic beast Digimon grinned, showing off his pointy teeth. "I wanted to meet the idiots who were foolish enough to enter the master's waters without his permission."

"These waters aren't his!" Gomamon snapped. "They belong to everyone!"

TK glanced at Gomamon. "Wait, who are we talking about?"

The seal Digimon's eyes narrowed. "The Dark Undersea Master. He's nothing but a big bully that thinks he can boss everyone around, and he kills anyone who enters what he considers his territory uninvited."

"And you had your fish friends drag our boat into it?!" Takuya exclaimed.

Gomamon snorted. "You were in what he claims are his waters long before you met me."

"And how can we ask for permission to enter his territory if we have to enter his territory to do it?" Davis asked. "That doesn't make sense."

Divermon snickered. "It doesn't matter anymore, because you're all dead."

Takuya looked ready for a fight. "Bring it on. We can take you."

"Careful, guys," Shoutmon told them. "This guy's an Ultimate."

"A what?" Takato mumbled.

Davis pointed at the aquatic beast Digimon in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding! _This_ guy's an Ultimate? Kuwagamon looked tougher."

"Appearances can be deceiving," Shoutmon replied. "He's a low-power Ultimate, but an Ultimate all the same."

Divermon snickered. "And he's taking you down." He jumped backwards into the water, resurfacing a moment later. _"Striking Fish!"_

He threw his harpoon again. The teens moved out of the way as it hit the wall, but Divermon just pulled it free again.

"That's it,' Davis growled, "lets get this guy. _Execute! Spirit Evolution… ExVeemon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Agunimon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Nefertimon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Angemon!"_

Tai pulled out his Digivice too, but Takato grabbed his arm. "No, don't. Greymon's weight will sink the boat."

Grumbling, the older boy looked at his friends. "So we're just supposed to stand here and cheer them on?"

Takato looked back at them too. "It's the only thing we can do."

"Don't worry, we got this," said ExVeemon. _"Vee-Laser!"_

" _Striking Fish!"_

Divermon's spear flew up towards ExVeemon, tearing right through his attack. The dragon Digimon just barely avoided getting impaled.

" _Nile Jewelry!"_ Nefertimon cried, firing jewels down at the aquatic beast Digimon. Divermon submerged, jewels raining down around him as he swam away. Up in the air, Angemon used his _Omni Tornado_ , creating a waterspout in hopes of catching Divermon. He was off the mark, but Divermon just grinned and deliberately swam up into it, rising into the sky.

Once up in the air, Divermon burst from the waterspout at Angemon, moving to stab him with his spear. Angemon raised his staff, blocking the attack, but Divermon sneered and grabbed one of the angel Digimon's wings. _"Hell Dive!"_

He dove out of the sky and into the water, dragging Angemon down with him. He sought to pull him down deep, but a rope of golden light wrapped around the angel Digimon, pulling him back to the surface.

"You ok, Angemon?" Nefertimon asked, having saved him with her _Golden Noose_.

He spat out a mouthful of water. "Yeah, thanks for that."

Divermon's spear flew out of the water at them, but ExVeemon intercepted and caught it. "That's enough of that. _Critical Crunch!"_

He bit the cable, snapping the line, and Divermon ended up empty-handed when he pulled it back. "They stole my spear! I kill them!"

Otamamon swam over to them. "Stop playing around. Just kill the ones on the boat."

Divermon's eyes landed on the floating vessel. "Yeah, good call."

He swam up to the surface, leaping out of the water and onto the deck, only to be greeted by Agunimon's flaming _Salamander Kick_ , knocking him back into the water. "Thought you might try that," the fire wizard Digimon told him.

"Here," ExVeemon called down to the aquatic beast Digimon, "have a taste of your own medicine!"

He threw the spear down at him as Divermon floated on the surface, but Divermon's hand shot out and grabbed it before he was speared, and he sneered at the dragon Digimon. "Thanks for that."

"How about this!" Angemon cried as he and Nefertimon flew past him. Behind them, they dragged the _Golden Noose_ , and flew around in circles, coiling it around Divermon. Bound as he was, he could no longer stay afloat and sank beneath the surface.

On the boat, Gomamon forced himself to sit up. "We've got to get out of here. _Marching Fishes!"_

The multicolored school of fish reappeared and began dragging the boat away. Divermon's eyes narrowed as they attempted to flee and he continued to sink deeper. "I don't think so!"

With a burst of strength, he broke free of the _Golden Noose_. Swimming to the surface, he poked his head out to see the teens, both human and Digimon, making their escape. "You're not getting away from me!"

He threw his spear, his target the one with the large spikey hair. With his back turned, Tai was unaware of the attack, and was about to be skewered for the second time that day.

It was Gomamon to the rescue, head-butting Tai to knock him out of the way. He fell to the ground, but quickly sat up, seeing the spear sticking out of the wall. "Whoa," he cried, "that's twice I almost…"

He trailed off, his eyes widening in horror. The spear wasn't just sticking out of the wall, it was pinning Gomamon to it, having pierced straight through.

"Gomamon!" Nefertimon shouted.

"Gomamon!" Angemon echoed.

"Oh no!" Agunimon cried, rushing over to their little friend. Takato joined him, staring at the spear in horror. He hesitated a moment before moving to pull it out.

"Don't do that!" Tai shouted, pushing him aside. "You never remove an impalement unless you can get immediate medical treatment or else you could bleed out!"

Through the pain, Gomamon managed to crack a smile. "Thanks… but I don't think… medical treatment… can fix this…"

Tai dropped to his knees. "Why? Why'd you do that?"

With a shaky paw, Gomamon reached out and patted his head. "Because that's what… friends do… They protect… each other…"

His arm dropped and he went limp. His body burst into data, and he was gone. The fish moving the boat immediately departed without the seal Digimon's influence.

Takato's eyes were shining with tears. "He's gone? No, he can't be gone."

"But he is," Tai murmured, staring at the deck with a blank look. "He died protecting me."

A cruel chuckle came from the side as Divermon crawled onto the boat. "You should just be glad you're still alive. But I plan to change that in a few minutes."

Fists clenching, Tai turned to the aquatic beast Digimon. "You son of a-"

He threw a punch. Divermon easily caught his fist and sneered, then he raised his own fist. A savage cry came from Shoutmon as he jumped on Divermon's back. He clawed at Divermon's face, grabbing his eyelids and pulling them. Divermon hissed in pain and pushed Tai aside. He reached behind him and pulled the dragon Digimon off his back, throwing him into Takato.

"That hurt, you punk," he growled, rubbing his eyes.

When he moved his hands from his face, he saw an enraged Agunimon right in front of him unleashing his _Pyro Tornado_. The fire wizard Digimon foot slammed into him as the fiery vortex blasted off part of the boat and sent Divermon skyward.

" _Hand of Fate!"_

" _Vee-Laser!"_

" _Beam of Isis!"_

The three rays struck Divermon, pushing him back into the ocean and sending up walls of water as they pushed him away. The flying Digimon hovered just above the boat in case Divermon resurfaced. Tai looked up at them, then glanced at the spear embedded in the wall. He swore to the sky and slammed his fist on the floor, nearly bruising his hand as vented his frustration.

Below the water, Divermon shook off his disorientation. They had been lucky with those attacks. He couldn't believe they had actually hurt him. He would make them pay for that.

"Divermon! Divermon!"

With a growl, he turned to Otamamon. "What? I'm a little busy."

"But we've got trouble," the tadpole Digimon replied.

Divermon scoffed. "There's no trouble. They just caught me by surprise. It won't happen again."

Otamamon shook his head. "No, not that. We have some real trouble."

The aquatic beast Digimon sighed. "What trouble?"

"Big trouble," answered a voice similar to his own. "And you're in it."

A second Divermon appeared, and the former gulped. This wasn't just another Divermon, but the head of the master's guard. He wore golden chains and arm pieces retrieved from sunken ships to symbolize his ranking.

"C-Captain," Divermon stammered. "What seems to be the problem?"

The captain of the guard glared. I think you know what the problem is."

Divermon glanced at Otamamon, who was looking pale. "I'm sorry, but I don't understand. Otamamon and I are merely dealing with trespassers in the master's territory."

The captain's eyes narrowed. "And therein lies the problem. You knew about them, but did not report it. Why not?"

He continued to play dumb. "We get trespassers, and we're meant to deal with them as we see fit. We're simply following orders."

The accessorized Divermon pointed at him accusingly. "Do you think the master is a fool? There's nothing that goes on in these waters that he doesn't find out about eventually." He crossed his arms. "How long did you think you would be able to hide the fact that there are _humans_ in the master's waters?"

The color drained from Divermon's face.

 **(A/N: Oh man, poor Gomamon. Please don't hate me for it, but you can't expect them to never have any losses. This is the first friend they've lost since coming to the Digital World. How is this going to affect the group, especially Tai, for whom Gomamon sacrificed himself for? And what's going on below the water too? What type of trouble is Divermon in for? And if he, an Ultimate is this afraid of his master, then how terrifying is this mysterious Digimon. Well, maybe not so mysterious if you've seen the anime. Or maybe I'm deliberately misleading you. You'll have to stay tuned to find out. See you next time.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the _DOT_ in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Divermon**


	22. Chapter 22: The Dark Undersea Master

**(A/N: This arc is getting a little difficult to write. Being on a raft out in the middle of the ocean really limits what the characters can do since they're pretty much stuck in the same place, but I'm working with what I have. BTW, the next release of _Digimon Tri_ is coming out this month. Super excited. Maybe I'll get some new ideas. Until then, enjoy the next chapter.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Chapter 22: The Dark Undersea Master**

"Unacceptable," the undersea master grumbled. "Completely unacceptable." He leaned in closer to Otamamon and Divermon. "To think you could deceive me like this. For your sake, you better have a good excuse."

The two Digimon cringed, exchanging guilty looks. Their master was very strict and did not tolerate disloyalty, nor was he all that forgiving.

"We did not think it was worth concerning you, master," Otamamon replied.

"Concern?" the master seethed. "You think I have cause to be concerned over these creatures?"

Divermon waved his arms. "He misspoke, my lord! He meant that he didn't think we should bother you with something so trivial."

A growl escaped the giant Digimon. "You didn't think it was worth mentioning that creatures from another dimension were in my waters?"

Otamamon struggled to find his voice. "No, no, my lord. I just thought that-"

"SILENCE!" the master bellowed. "I will not hear your lies! I know full well what you were thinking. You wanted to have the glory of taking the credit of having defeated humans to rise in my ranks, so you got Tylomon and Mantaraymon to do your dirty work. When you failed, you sought to hide it from me by enlisting Divermon's help to quietly get rid of the humans and hope I would never know. Did you really think I could be taken for a fool?"

The tadpole Digimon was far too afraid to respond, so Divermon spoke up on his friend's behalf. "Master, let me explain-"

"SILENCE!"

Tentacles shot out, impaling Divermon. A surprised gasp of pain escaped him as he suffered a fate similar to that of the Gomamon he killed, meeting the same end a moment later. Otamamon looked at the master in horror before the giant Digimon clapped his tentacle hands together on him, and Otamamon joined Divermon in death.

"Let this be a lesson to anyone who seeks to deceive me," the master declared to his army of Divermon. "I will not tolerate it. Anyone who shows any sign of disloyalty will meet the same end. Is that understood?"

There were cries of, "Yes, master!" from the Divermon, many sufficiently frightened into submission. The captain was one of the few that seemed to take delight in the situation, a look of glee on his face.

"Now then," the master growled, looking up to the surface, "lets see about these humans."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

It was grim up on the boat. The teens were grieving for their lost friend. Gomamon's death hit them hard. He was the first real friend they had lost since coming here. True, they had seen other Digimon die that weren't bad, but none they had really connected with.

Shoutmon was equally as depressed, but he was more used to the harshness of it than they were, especially these past few hundred years. The humans though, they weren't used to it, they came from a world with a lot more luxuries and comforts, according to what they told him. But now they were in his harsh new world, and he to make that sink in.

"I know it's sad, you guys," he told them, "but this is the way of the Digital World. We're living in a time where evil runs ramped. I'm not going to lie, things are worse now than they've ever been in the history of the Digital World, but there's still a lot of good. And most of us can still live happy lives."

He saw that they weren't cheering up, so he changed tactics. "Hey, don't worry about Gomamon. His egg will hatch in a few days, and he'll be out and about as if nothing happened. I mean, sure, it'll take a while for him to Digivolve to the Rookie level again, but that's the price to pay for dying… Ooh, that's not much consolation, is it?"

TK gave him a sad but grateful smile. "It's alright, thanks for trying to help, Shoutmon. We appreciate it."

Davis sighed. "Yeah, I guess it makes me feel better to know that Gomamon will be back some day."

"And I'm sure Elecmon and Swanmon will take good care of him," Takato added.

A slightly humorous chuckle escaped Kari. "He'll certainly keep them on their toes."

It was still a depressing situation, but the mood lightened a bit. They took comfort in knowing that their friend wasn't really gone, just out of the picture for a while, but would return eventually.

Tai was the only one that refused to see the silver lining, and as the others' moods improved, he felt his anger rising as the image of Gomamon dying over and over again flashed through his mind until he finally couldn't take it anymore.

"Will you guys shut up!" he snapped. "What's so great about Gomamon dying? How can you possibly be happy about it?"

"Whoa, whoa, Tai," TK cried, "we are _not_ happy about Gomamon dying."

"Well it certainly sounds like it with the way you're joking around."

"We're not joking around," Takuya objected, "we're just trying to look at the bright side. Yes, it's horrible that Gomamon died, but we should take comfort in the fact that he'll be back."

Tai slammed his fist against the wall. "That's the whole problem with this world. Death is practically nothing more than hitting the reset button on a game, so you Digimon have no qualms about killing. Well, what if one of us dies next? There's no coming back to life for us. What if instead of Gomamon, one of you had died instead? We can't come back to life like Digimon, but we'll still see each other again when we die too. But does that mean we just dismiss it and act like nothing is wrong? We might as well with the way you're taking Gomamon's death."

He looked at his hands, practically seeing the seal Digimon's blood on them. "He died protecting me. First I was unable to do anything Tylomon and Mantaraymon. Then the same thing happened with Divermon. Then Gomamon sacrificed himself to save me because I wasn't able to fight."

"Tai," said Kari softly, "we already talked about this. You can't protect all of us all of the time. We have to rely on each other."

Tai glared at her. "Yeah, and when I relied on you guys to fight Divermon, Gomamon ended up dead!"

A look of shock and hurt crossed Kari's face. TK put an arm around her and glared at Tai. "That was uncalled for."

The older boy crossed his arms. "Well, it's true, isn't it? Had I been able to fight, Gomamon wouldn't have had to die. I should have just Spirit Evolved and fought."

"You would have killed us," Davis objected. "You would have sunk the boat and left us stranded in the middle of the ocean."

"Maybe, maybe not. At least Gomamon wouldn't have died because I stood around and did nothing."

Shoutmon sighed. "I've had enough of this." He produced his mic and used it to whack Tai across the shins, bringing the teen down.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

Shoutmon glared at him. "Get off your pedestal already. Do you think the sun won't rise if you're not there to greet it? News flash, pal, but it's not all about you. Maybe if you had fought it would have made a difference, maybe not. Gomamon may have died either way."

He pointed at Tai. "You think I don't know what this is really about? It's survivor's guilt. Gomamon died protecting you, so you feel responsible about it. That's to be expected. Of course you'd feel angry, like you're a failure, but you know what, that's life. Move on. Make sure it doesn't happen again. Make sure Gomamon's death wasn't in vain by doing what you can, when you can."

The two stared at each other as Shoutmon's tough love speech sunk in. But it might not be enough this time. During the attack with Tylomon and Mantaraymon, there hadn't been any casualties on their side. But with Divermon, not only had they lost Gomamon, but he had died protecting Tai. And right now, he was wallowing in self-hatred because of it.

Tai looked away, unable to take the feeling of pity he felt from them. "Well, it won't happen again. No one else will die, especially for me. I'll make sure of it."

"Tai…" Kari began, but TK held her back, shaking his head.

"Nothing you say will get through to him. He has to forgive himself first and accept that it wasn't his fault."

Kari stared at her brother sadly, but knew he was right. This was something Tai would have to work through on his own.

"And I'll tell you one thing," Tai continued, "the next time we see Divermon, I'm gonna end him."

"That's not nice," came a familiar voice from overboard. "What'd I ever do to you?"

Poking its head out of the water was another Divermon, staring at the teens with a hungry look in its eyes.

Anger twisted Tai's face as he reached for his Digivice. "Divermon!"

Shoutmon grabbed his arm. "Wait, that's a different Divermon."

Davis glanced at the dragon Digimon. "You sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. Isn't it obvious?"

No, it most definitely was not since the teens lacked the sixth sense to tell apart Digimon of the same species. This particular Divermon though, was wearing several gold trinkets to symbolize its ranking. "You don't need to worry about that other Divermon anymore. The master was rather displeased with him, so was he disposed of."

Disposed of? The Divermon that had attacked them was gone? While that was indeed a relief, it left Tai feeling very unsatisfied.

"Wait a minute," he cried. "Your master? You have the same master?"

The captain of the Divermon grinned. "Of course. In fact, we all do."

All around the raft, more and more Divermon began poking their heads out of the water. The teens looked on with growing dread as their boat was surrounded. They were all thinking the same thing, if one Divermon gave them so much trouble, how would they stand against over 100?

"Guys," Davis muttered, "I have a bad feeling about this."

"What's wrong?" the Divermon captain mocked. "Feeling a little in over your head? You humans were naïve. Just because you had a few victories, did you really think you could win a war?"

"What war?" TK cried. "We don't want a war! We just want to go home!"

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but that's not happening. _Striking Fish!"_

His spear went flying, and the teens dove out of the way. The Divermon began laughing at their helplessness against so many of them. Without hesitation, the teens pulled out their Digivices.

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… ExVeemon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Agunimon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Nefertimon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Angemon!"_

Tai pulled out his Digivice too, unwilling to sit on the sidelines this time, but Shoutmon whacked his hand with his mic, causing him to drop the device. "Don't be stupid."

Tai glared at him. "I want to fight too!"

"You _can't_ fight! Not on this boat! Accept it!"

"Just leave it to us," Nefertimon declared. _"Nile Jewelry!"_

A shower of jewels rained down on the Divermon. Some submerged while others simply covered their heads, and yet some paid them no mind at all.

"Ha!" the captain laughed. "Do you think your puny attacks can harm us? Come on, guys, show 'em what you got."

Spears went flying, aimed not at the flying Digimon, but the boat's occupants. Angemon flew in front of Takato and Tai and used his _Angel Staff_ to deflect the spears while Agunimon knocked away the ones aimed at him. Shoutmon was not as lucky, and he ended up in a rather ridiculous pose with his arms and legs sticking out and his body twisted in an unnatural position as the spears stuck to the wall around him.

"They're sitting ducks down there," said ExVeemon. "Nefertimon, get them in the air. I'll distract them."

"I'm on it."

As Nefertimon flew down to the boat, ExVeemon turned to the Divermon. _"Hearty Shatter!"_

Fireballs rained down, and the Divermon quickly ducked beneath the surface to avoid them while Nefertimon hovered beside the boat. Shoutmon hopped onto her head while Tai, Takato, and Agunimon climbed up onto her back, her brother with great reluctance.

Just as she was about to take off, several Divermon grabbed her feet and attempted to pull her into the water. Angemon rushed over and used _Staff Sweep_ to knock them away, and they took to the air.

"We'll just stay up here," Nefertimon told them. "They're aim can't reach this far."

"Guess again!" the Divermon captain replied.

A tower of Divermon, standing on one another's shoulders, rose out of the water. Several spears went flying, and Angemon moved in their path, using _Omni Tornado_ to send them off course.

"Those little sneaks," ExVeemon growled.

Agunimon was having similar thoughts. "I can't fight them from way up here when they can just use the water for cover."

"That's fine," Angemon assured him. "We'll handle it. _Hand of Fate!"_

His holy beam flew down at the Divermon, who quickly submerged. His attack tore through the water, hitting nothing.

"We have to get closer," said ExVeemon, flying down lower. The moment he was low enough, several Divermon leapt out of the water and grabbed his legs and tail. "Hey, get off!"

Angemon flew over to help, smacking the Divermon with his staff. Another Divermon threw its spear, the weapon heading for ExVeemon's chest. His hands shot out, grabbing the spear, the pointy tip just barely grazing his skin. "Whoa, that was close."

"I'll get him," Angemon declared. _"Hand of Fate!"_

His attack flew towards the Divermon, but another one came up and threw its spear. The weapon tore through Angemon's attack, causing it to disperse, and found its mark.

"Angemon!" Nefertimon cried fearfully, seeing the spear sticking out of him.

The angel Digimon turned to her, revealing that the spear was actually only stuck between his arm and torso. "I'm alright."

Tai's fist clenched as the scene reminded him of Gomamon's death. He couldn't take it anymore. He was going to fight, and that was that.

"That does it," he growled. "I'm not going to just sit around anymore." With that, he leapt off his sister's shoulders. The others cried out his name as he landed on the boat again and held up his Digivice. _"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Greymon!"_

The boat sunk under his weight, submerging several feet. Water began flowing across the deck, yet the boat remained afloat, but only just. Had there been the slightest bit more weight, it most likely would have gone completely under.

"Alright, now we're talking!" He looked at the Divermon. "Now you'll pay for attacking us. _Nova Blast!"_

He spat continuous fireballs at the aquatic beast Digimon. They avoided the attacks easily enough and threw their spears, but Greymon knocked them away with his _Great Horns Attack_.

"He's so reckless," Nefertimon commented, "but it looks like we're ok for now. Lets get rid of these Divermon."

Staying at a high enough distance, she, Agunimon, and Shoutmon fired attacks down at the Divermon while ExVeemon and Angemon attacked at a closer range and Greymon from the boat. The Divermon seemed to think the dinosaur Digimon was the easiest target, and most went after him. He put up one heck of a fight though, using his horns and tail to knock away their spears. And when they began leaping out of the water at him, he summoned up his _Fire Wall_.

"ENOUGH!" a loud voice boomed from beneath the water. All attention shifted to the bubbling surface as something massively large rose up from the sea. It had a humanoid squid appearance with bat-like wings growing out of its back.

"Look out!" ExVeemon cried. "It's Cthulhu!"

"Fool," the Divermon captain exclaimed, "it's the Dark Undersea Master."

Up on Nefertimon's back, Takato checked his Digivice. "Dragomon, Ultimate level, special attack, _Forbidden Trident._ It says here he has titles such as the Sinful Priest of the Ocean Floor and the Depraved Monk of the Deep. Yikes."

Greymon's eyes narrowed. "So this is the Undersea Master everyone has been talking about."

Dragomon snarled. "How dare you speak to me in such a way! Especially when you're trespassing in my waters!"

"These aren't your water," Greymon growled. "They belong to everyone."

The Divermon captain snickered. "I'd be careful if I were you. The master is very prone to anger."

His words proved to be true as Dragomon raised his arms. "I'll show you whose waters these are. _Tentacle Flapping!"_

His finger-like tentacles shot out and began flailing about. ExVeemon and Angemon maneuvered around them as they flew through the air wildly.

" _Holy Shot!"_ Angemon cried, firing energy bullets from his finger. They rained against Dragomon's face, but seemed to be ineffective. ExVeemon followed up with a _Vee-Laser_ , but Dragomon easily blocked it.

"You're attacks are useless," the giant aquatic beast Digimon declared.

His tentacles shot out again, wrapping around the two Digimon. Dragomon slammed them down, and they hit the water with a heavy impact, the dragon Digimon ending up doing a belly-flop.

"That's gotta sting," Agunimon muttered. "Nefertimon, can you get them?"

"I'm on it," she replied, flying towards her friends.

Dragomon turned to them, his tentacles shooting out as he cried, _"Thousand Whip!"_

His tentacles came down like a whip and struck Nefertimon. Agunimon managed to shield Takato and Shoutmon with his body just before the attack hit, and they all went splashing into the water.

Greymon was left alone on the half-sunken raft surrounded by Divermon and the massively large form of Dragomon towering over him. A feeling of dread gripped him as he felt as if his greatest fears were being confirmed.

"Guys!" he shouted desperately. "Guys, where are you?"

Dragomon's attention shifted to him. "Now do you understand? This is what happens to those that defy me. They all meet a tragic end."

Anger burned in Greymon's eyes. "You… _Nova Blast!"_

Dragomon raised his arm to block the attack from hitting his face. "You can't defeat me. Not here. Not in my domain. And since you saw fit to enter my waters without my permission, I'll see to it that you remain a permanent resident."

He lifted his arm, making a fist, and brought it down. Greymon could do nothing but brace himself for the blow.

A wave of water rose up as Dragomon's fist slammed down. Greymon was gone, and all that was left of the boat was a bunch of splinters.

 **(A/N: Did anyone guess Dragomon? I thought all the Divermon servants were a bit of giveaway, if not the chapter title. Someone guessed MetalSeadramon, but it's still a little early to bring in Mega level villains. They'll be coming up though. I debated between using Dragomon and MarineDevimon, but decided to go with Dragomon since I didn't want another Devimon-species so soon after Devimon's defeat. What will this mean for our heroes? They're now stranded in the middle of the ocean after having faced a crushing defeat by their strongest opponent yet. Hang tight to this cliffhanger, and I'll see you next time.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the _DOT _ in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Dragomon**


	23. Chapter 23: New Sea Voyage

**(A/N: The new _Digimon Tri_ episode is out. And I've been so busy that I haven't gotten a chance to see it yet. Really, it's been a busy week for me, but I've got the next update. We last left our heroes stranded at sea after a vicious attack from Dragomon and his army of Divermon. What will become of our heroes? Find out now.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Chapter 23: New Sea Voyage**

Tai was vaguely aware of someone calling his name. It sounded like Kari. Was she in trouble? He had to get to her; she might need his help.

"Kari!" he shouted, sitting up suddenly. There was an immediate blast of pain, followed by a loud yelp. Apparently, the others had been crouching over him, and upon sitting up, he had bonked heads with Davis.

"Ow!" his doppelganger wailed. "Watch it, will ya!"

Tai rubbed his own head, his eyes quickly landing on his sister. "Kari, you're ok." He looked at the others. "You all are."

"Barely," Takuya mumbled. "It was a close call. I thought we were goners for sure."

Suddenly, Tai remembered their boat being destroyed, yet they hadn't drowned. How had they survived? He looked around at what they were sitting on, seeing a hard brown surface. "What is this?" he asked, knocking on the ground.

"Oh, that's me," an unfamiliar voice replied.

Tai jumped. "Hey, who was that?"

Kari smiled and patted the ground. "Tai, meet our new friend, Whamon. He's the one who saved us."

Her brother blinked. "Um, Whamon?"

He checked his Digivice, getting a picture of a whale-like Digimon with a brown bone-like head covering, similar to his Greymon form. Whamon was a powerful Champion level Digimon with a peaceful nature, and he was _huge_.

Putting away his Digivice, he looked at the 'ground'. "You're the one that saved us?"

Kari giggled. "I just said so."

"You're actually very lucky came around when I did," the whale Digimon stated. "After Dragomon left you guys for dead, I decided to rescue you."

Tai wasn't sure how to respond to that. "Oh, well, thanks."

"No thanks necessary, my little friend. Anyone who opposes Dragomon is ok in my book. Even when he was just a Gesomon he was such a bully. Ever since he took over, we've had nothing but trouble."

"Then why doesn't anyone do anything?" Takuya asked.

Whamon sighed. "Dragomon is very powerful. Most find it easier to just steer clear of him. Besides, it's not uncommon for a Digimon to claim territory. But Dragomon has gotten rather bold. Something needs to be done."

Davis cut his eyes at Shoutmon and grinned. "Isn't this a job for the Digimon King?"

The dragon Digimon glared at him. "Watch it."

"I would advise staying away from him," the whale Digimon replied. "I saw you fight, and, nothing personal, but he's out of your league."

"Yeah, no kidding," Tai grumbled.

He sighed and looked at the sky. Thinking back to the last battle, he realized that what that Divermon with all the gold had said was true. They _had_ been naïve. They knew that there were some really powerful Digimon out there, but somehow they seemed to think that everything would work out. And they got their butts kicked for it.

This was their first real defeat. So far, they somehow had always managed to come out on top in the end, but this was the first time they had ever lost a battle. Devimon had been tough, but Dragomon was something else entirely. The battles they would face from here on out would only get tougher, and they needed to be ready for them. If they wanted to survive, they would have to fight as a team. He couldn't do it on his own. That had already been shown to him.

"Hey, guys," he muttered, resting his chin on his knees as he hugged his legs, "I owe you all an apology. I've been a real jerk lately, and I'm sorry."

TK chuckled. "So he admits it."

The older boy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I admit it. I thought I had to do everything myself and keep all you guys safe. I felt like I failed at that, especially after Gomamon…"

Davis crossed his arms. "Hey, man, we get it. Gomamon's death was hard on all of us, even more so on you since he died saving you. But it's not up to you to protect us. It's up to us to protect each other."

"Well spoken," Whamon replied. "That's how it should be between friends."

Kari smiled and patted his giant head. "Well, it's nice to have a friend like you. Do you think you could take us to the mainland?"

"It would be my pleasure. It shouldn't be more than a day or two with my swimming speed."

"That's good," said Takato, "cause we lost all our food and supplies when Dragomon destroyed our boat."

Davis looked into the water. "Think we're allowed to eat fish now?"

"I don't see why not," Whamon replied. "I eat fish all the time."

TK was frowning. "I don't know. It feels too soon after Gomamon's death."

Kari nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we can last until we reach the mainland."

Shoutmon rolled his eyes. "Geez, I've never seen any two people so in tuned with each other. You might as well just DNA Digivolve together, call yourselves Takari."

As the two teens blushed, Davis fumed. "Who's in tuned?"

The dragon Digimon ignored him. "Also, it's not a good idea to not eat. We'll need our strength to fight in case we're attacked again."

Whamon splashed his tail. "Not to worry. I'll protect you. I may not be a match for Dragomon, but I am a very powerful Champion that can rival even an Ultimate. Plus I've got my size as an advantage."

"Awesome," Tai replied. "We'll be counting on you." He looked at Shoutmon. "So, what's DNA Digivolving?"

Shoutmon glanced at him. "Hmm? You don't know? Oh, right, you wouldn't. Well, DNA Digivolving is two or more Digimon Digivolving together into a single Digimon."

Takato's eyes widened. "You can do that?"

"Just how many kinds of Digivolution are there?" Takuya asked.

Shoutmon tapped his chin. "Known kind? Let me see. Well, there's normal Digivolution, you know that. Slide Evolution is changing from one form to another of the same level. DNA Digivolution I just explained. Armor Digivolution is the process of Digivolving with a Digimental. Matrix Digivolving is Digivolving straight to the Ultimate level. Warp Digivolving is Digivolving straight to the Mega level. Golden Armor Digivolution is a much more powerful version of Armor Digivolving. Then there's Mode Change, which isn't exactly going up a level, but more like upgrading the level you're currently at. Bio-Merge Digivolution is taking another life form into yourself to Digivolve straight to Mega. Burst Evolution is a very powerful but temporary Mode Change whose strength surpasses even the Mega level. Dark Digivolving is Digivolving into an evil and corrupt stage."

"Isn't that just regular Digivolving, just into an evil version of a stage?" Takato asked.

Shoutmon shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much, but we differentiate between them since it normally takes unique circumstances to go dark. Now, where was I? Oh yeah. There's X-Evolution, which is upgrading to the more advanced and evolved X version of your current stage. Death-X Evolution is an extremely rare form of Digivolution where rather than dying, your data Digivolves within the corpse of your body immediately after death. DigiFusion Digivolution is like a combination of Armor Digivolution and DNA Digivolution, where one or more Digimon become an additional part of your body or an accessory. Lastly, there's a type of Digivolution exclusive to AppMon type Digimon called Appli Fusion, which is kind of like a combination of DigiFusion and DNA Digivolving. Oh, and I guess now there's Spirit Evolution where humans can turn into Digimon. Hmm, I wonder if Digimon can Spirit Evolve to gain access to stages they shouldn't be able to obtain."

"So counting Spirit Evolving, there are 16 different types of Digivolution," TK noted, having been counting each one.

"That are known," the dragon Digimon corrected. "I'm sure there are others that just haven't been discovered yet, but so far, those are the only ones we know of." Smirking, he crossed his arms. "Back in the day, I specialized in DigiFusion Digivolution. Yup, my buddies and I would DigiFuse all the time." His face fell. "Before… things went bad that is."

Things became quiet and awkward after that, and they all fell silent as Whamon swam along. Davis finally broke the silence several minutes later. "That Death-X Evolution thing, how can you Digivolve in your own corpse? That's gross!"

The others stared at him for a few moments before bursting out in laughter. Shoutmon wiped a tear from his eye. "You humans and your curiosity." He shook his head. Basically, the destroyed Digimon's data survives, and they pull themselves together, using their own data to Digivolve."

Kari looked uneasy. "You don't think that could happen to Devimon, do you?"

Shoutmon just waved this off. "Nah, it's really, really rare, practically unheard of. I believe only one or two species of Digimon has managed to pull it off. Don't worry, we're good."

Whamon cleared his throat. "Um, actually, we have a bit of a problem."

"What's up, pal?" Davis asked.

"Me!" came a voice from down below.

From over the side of Whamon, a spear came flying up, embedding itself into the whale Digimon's hard head covering. Crawling up the rope was the captain of the Divermon, his gold trinkets shining in the sun.

"You!" Takuya snapped.

Divermon laughed. "Finally! I've been trying to find you humans for hours. The master wanted me to make sure you were dead. I guess you weren't." He cracked his knuckles. "But very soon, you will be."

"Get off my back!" Whamon growled, unable to shake him off or submerge because of his passengers.

Divermon stomped his foot down on him. "Shut up! You'll pay for aiding these humans!"

"No way," said Tai. "You're the one who's going to pay. This time, all of us can fight, and you don't have all your friends or your master here to help you."

"I need no one!" the aquatic beast Digimon declared. "I'm captain of the master's army. I can take care of myself."

"We'll see. Let's do it, guys. _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Greymon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… ExVeemon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Growlmon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Agunimon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Nefertimon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Angemon!"_

Divermon grinned. "This is going to be fun."

"Are you sure?" Growlmon asked. "You think you can take all six of us?"

"Careful, guys," Shoutmon warned. "Remember, a higher level Digimon is typically stronger than over a dozen Digimon of the level before it."

"Dually noted," Nefertimon replied. _"Rosetta Stone!"_

The stone slabs flew at him, but Divermon easily danced out of the way. Growlmon charged at him, using his _Growl Claw_. Divermon jumped up to avoid it, and his fist collided with Growlmon's jaw, knocking the much larger Digimon back.

" _Striking Fish!"_

He threw his spear at the fallen dinosaur Digimon. Greymon rushed over and used his horns to knock it aside. _"Nova Blast!"_

" _Hell Dive!"_

True to his attack's name, Divermon dove… right into the fireball. He burst out the back, slightly singed, and spun around in mid-air, kicking Greymon in the side of his head, knocking him off his feet.

"Children, listen to me," Whamon began.

"We're a little busy here," Agunimon told him. _"Pyro Darts!"_

Divermon twirled his spear in front of him, deflecting the bits of fire. Angemon used the distraction to fly behind him and fire his _Hand of Fate_. But Divermon suddenly did a backflip, avoiding the attack, and the beam brushed across Whamon's head. "Ouch!"

"Sorry about that," Angemon replied. "This guy's fast."

"And tougher than he looks," Growlmon added as he rubbed his jaw.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you. Now listen-"

"Hold that thought," ExVeemon told him, and began firing _Vee-Lasers_ down at the aquatic beast Digimon. Divermon hopped out of the way, and the attacks struck Whamon's head.

"Those sting, you know!"

"Sorry, big guy, but you're kind of our battlefield right now."

Divermon chuckled. "This isn't so much a battle as it is an assassination."

He jumped up in the sky surprisingly high, reaching ExVeemon in the air, much to the dragon Digimon's surprise. Raising his spear, he stabbed downward to pierce ExVeemon's heart, but Nefertimon's _Golden Noose_ shot out, wrapping around the dragon Digimon's leg and pulling him out of the way.

"Now!" Agunimon cried. _"Pyro Punch!"_

The fire dragon flew up towards Divermon, who couldn't even use his _Hell Dive_ to avoid it, and the explosive collision blew him back.

" _Rosetta Stone!"_ Nefertimon cried, firing a stone slab up at him.

Unable to avoid it, a loud "Oof" escaped the aquatic beast Digimon as the stone slab slammed into his gut and carried him off Whamon's back. Once he was over the ocean, Greymon fired a _Nova Blast_ as Growlmon unleashed his _Pyro Blaster_.

"Oh, come on!" Divermon complained, helpless to avoid the attacks.

There was a fiery explosion, and the smoking form of Divermon dropped into the water. The DigiDestined rushed over to the side of Whamon's head and looked down.

"Alright!" ExVeemon cheered. "We smoked him!"

"Do you think he's dead?" Nefertimon asked, not forgetting the fact that he was an Ultimate.

Her question was answered as Divermon came bursting out of the water, leaping clear over their heads, and landing on Whamon's back. "Not even close!"

He looked angry now, wielding his spear with deadly purpose. It seemed he didn't like the fact that those that were weaker than he was had managed to get the best of him. Whatever the case, he was no longer in the mood for games.

" _Beam of Isis!"_ Nefertimon cried.

Divermon stabbed outward, the point of his spear making contact with the beam, causing it to split upon contact and disperse.

"Guys, I think he means business," Shoutmon told them.

"Would you care for my assistance?" Whamon asked.

"That would be great right about now," said Greymon.

"Then those that are able, carry those that cannot fly and get in front of my face."

They exchanged confused looks before doing as he said. Greymon and Growlmon reverted back to their human forms so they could be carried by ExVeemon and Angemon while Agunimon and Shoutmon hopped onto Nefertimon's back.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Divermon snarled, and charged after them as they flew off Whamon's head.

"What now?" Agunimon asked once they were right in front of Whamon's face.

"Trust me," the whale Digimon replied before opening his large mouth and suddenly swallowed them whole.

"What the hell!" Tai shouted.

"You'll be safe in there," Whamon told them. "My body is like a tank."

"Is this sanitary?" ExVeemon asked.

Divermon slid down Whamon's face and began pounding on his mouth. "Open up, you overgrown sardine! Those humans are mine!"

"Not today," Whamon snapped.

He dove deep, his mighty tail slapping at the surface of the water, sending Divermon flying. When the aquatic beast Digimon hit the water again, he snarled and swam down after Whamon. The giant whale Digimon was swimming straight down into the darkness, heading for the deepest trenches on the ocean floor.

Whamon was fast, but Divermon was faster, and he slowly gained ground on the whale Digimon. A wicked grin crept up his face as he swam alongside Whamon and buried his spear into his flesh, earning him a painful grunt from the whale Digimon as he swam deeper into the darkness.

"You can't escape me!" Divermon declared. "I'm going to make mincemeat out of…"

He trailed off as Whamon's plan came into effect. His spear bent and his tank dented as the water pressure increased the further down the whale Digimon went. Though he was at a higher level, and even though he too was water-based Digimon, Divermon's body was not meant to withstand this much water pressure while Whamon was built for it.

An agonized gargle escaped Divermon and he released his spear as he swam desperately out of the dark trench, feeling like his skull was going to be crushed. Whamon breathed a sigh of relief and began swimming at a slower pace.

"Is everyone all right?" he asked the occupants of his mouth.

"My ears are going to pop!" ExVeemon exclaimed.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I had to dive deep in order to reach a depth where the water pressure was too much for Divermon. We should be safe now. I'll head back to the surface in a few minutes once we're a little further away."

Though he felt grossed out being inside the whale Digimon's mouth, Tai had to admit that it had been a great strategy. "That was a really good idea, using the water pressure like that."

"A good idea?" ExVeemon wailed. "A good idea! The guy ate us!"

"Well, he did get us away from Divermon," Angemon pointed out.

"He _ate_ us!"

"He didn't eat us, ExVeemon," Agunimon told him as he created fire to provide them with light. "He's just carrying us in his mouth."

Takato was trying to clear out his ears. "Can something please be done about the pressure? I don't think my ears can take much more of this?"

"Oh, yes, sorry," Whamon replied. "I dove a little too fast. Just a moment."

A loud belch followed and a flow of bubbles floated out of the whale Digimon's blowhole. The pressure lessened considerably, and the teens and Shoutmon sighed in relief.

"Yeah, that's much better," Takato replied.

"By the way," Nefertimon added, "you're excused."

 **(A/N: Saved by Whamon, twice. Our heroes now have a new friend. I know I took a bit from Season 1 from when they were fleeing from MetalSeadramon, but I've done that a couple times. Hopefully he won't end up like the Whamon from the anime. But even with the giant whale Digimon on their side, Dragomon will not be so easily defeated. And being stuck in the ocean is another disadvantage our heroes face, even with the extra room to fight; I'm referring, of course, to Whamon's body. Wait and see where things go from here next time.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the _DOT _ in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Whamon**


	24. Chapter 24: Wrath of the Sea Master

**(A/N: I'm on vacation! Just chillin' in Florida. Great weather. Jealous? Ha, ha! Well, I can't stay long though. Still managed to get this out on time. I worked extra hard before leaving to have it ready before I left, so I hope you enjoy it.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Chapter 24: Wrath of the Sea Master**

"You lost them?" Dragomon seethed. "You had them in your grasp, and you lost them?"

The Divermon captain winced. "It was not my fault, master. Whamon took them to where I could not go."

"They barely survived when I destroyed their vessel. They should have been easy pickings. You were simply on clean up duty. Yet you let them slip away. Is this all that the captain of my guard is capable of? You are a failure!"

In an attempt to save face, and his rank, the captain puffed out his chest. "Sir, if you will just allow me to-"

"Silence!"

His mouth opened and he began sucking in water. The Divermon captain was sucked into Dragomon's gapping mouth, and the giant aquatic beast Digimon made a show of chewing him to pieces and swallowing. The other Divermon swam back fearfully as Dragomon roared his disapproval.

"You are all worthless fools! I should have known better than to count on you! I will find Whamon and those humans myself, and put an end to them once and for all!"

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"Children," said Whamon gently. "Children, wake up."

On his back, the teens slept soundly, huddled up together in a pile for warmth. Being out in the open during the night with the ocean breeze tended to get chilly, and with nothing to keep them warm, they had been drawn to each other's body heat as they slept.

Whamon's whispering slowly woke Takato from his slumber. As he cracked his eyes open, he found Davis' face pressed against his own. The other boy was apparently using him as a hug pillow and spooned up against him, the two of them cheek to cheek as Davis snored with his mouth open, a trail of drool about to drip down onto Takato.

A look of horror crossed Takato's face and he jumped up in disgust. "What are you doing?"

The others woke up as Takato got to his feet, causing their pile of bodies to fall apart. Once awake, they all leapt away from each other, surprised by their close proximity.

It hadn't just been Davis and Takato that had been in compromising positions. Takuya had been cuddling Shoutmon like a stuffed animal, while Tai had been hugging the boy's leg in a similar fashion. Kari had been curled up in a ball beside her brother's back while TK had slept with an arm wrapped around her. All in all, it was a very uncomfortable and embarrassing way for them to wake up.

"I think," said Tai, looking traumatized at having been nuzzling another guy's leg, "that we should sleep farther apart from now on. Agreed?"

"Agreed," the others chorused.

But while the others simply looked embarrassed out of discomfort, TK and Kari were blushing for a different reason. They couldn't bring themselves to meet each other's eyes, but still stood close enough to touch. And slowly, Kari's pinky finger stretched out to touch TK's, and his curled around hers, making their blushes deepen, but also making them both smile slightly.

Whamon cleared his throat. "I don't mean to interrupt your intimate moment-"

"We're not having an intimate moment!" they all shouted.

"-But we're almost to the mainland."

Their discomfort of waking up all snuggled together vanished as they ran to the front of Whamon's body. All they could see was more ocean, but when Tai looked through his miniature telescope, he could just make out the land. "He's right, we're almost there! Land ho!"

The others cheered. They'd been out at sea for several days now. They were tired and hungry, they'd fought in battles, lost a friend, had their boat destroyed, and suffered their first defeat. They were really looking forward to being back on dry land.

"I really need a shower," said Kari. "Or a hot bath."

"Now that sounds good," Tai agreed. "But I think I'd like to fill my stomach first."

"I'm with Tai," Davis agreed. "I plan to eat until I'm fit to burst, and then sleep for a week."

"Amen to that," said Shoutmon, bumping knuckles with him.

"I don't really care what we do," Takato grumbled, "just as long as we do it on dry land."

As they eagerly discussed what they would do once their sea voyage was over, Whamon suddenly came to a stop.

Tai looked down at him. "Hey, what's wrong, big guy?"

From out of the water, large tentacles began wrapping around the whale Digimon's body. The teens cried out and fled as the creeping tentacles slid across their friend.

Whamon's body was lifted horizontally, forcing the teens to hold on for dear life. Dragomon rose up out of the water, his tentacles tightening around the whale Digimon as he lifted him out of them water.

"Dragomon!" Whamon exclaimed.

The aquatic beast Digimon growled. "Whamon, you miserable traitor! I granted you permission to swim in my waters as long as you serve me, and instead you sided with these pathetic humans!"

Whamon struggled in vain to escape the tentacles. "These are not your waters! I never needed your permission to swim them, and I have never served you!"

"Then you are useless!"

The tentacles on his other hand curled into a fist, and they slammed into Whamon's gut. Several more punches followed in his chin, side, and stomach, the whale Digimon helpless against the assault.

"Stop it!" Takuya shouted.

When the whale Digimon went limp, Dragomon lifted the giant whale Digimon over his head and threw him. Whamon splashed back into the water, unconscious. He floated on his side, unmoving, bruises forming on his body where he had been hit.

"Come out, humans!" Dragomon thundered. "It's your turn now!"

Slowly, the teens crawled up Whamon's body until they stood on his side. Dragomon towered over them, just as menacing as before.

"There you are," he growled. His tentacle fingers motioned them towards him. "Come to your deaths."

Tai's fists clenched. "Not this time. We've had enough of you pushing us around. This time we're the ones who are going to kick some butt. _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Greymon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… ExVeemon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Growlmon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Agunimon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Nefertimon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Angemon!"_

Dragomon's eyes narrowed. "So, this is the complete team. All ready to fight, are we?"

"That's right!" Growlmon snarled. "And this time, we have plenty of space to run around." He glanced down at the whale Digimon, silently sending him an apology for literally walking all over him.

"It won't help you," Dragomon growled. _"Thousand Whip!"_

He brought his hand down, his tentacles stretching outward. The DigiDestined fled, the three capable of flight taking to the air, and Dragomon's tentacles struck Whamon's body, causing the whale Digimon to grunt in pain, even while unconscious.

"Grab them!" Greymon instructed, and he and Growlmon pounced on the tentacles.

Agunimon leapt on top of the tentacles and used his _Fire Dash_ , leaving a trail of fire behind as he raced up Dragomon's tentacles, up his arm, and onto his shoulder. _"Crimson Knuckle!"_ he cried, punching Dragomon in the side of the head with a flaming fist.

Dragomon grunted and stumbled back as Nefertimon flew by, firing _Rosetta Stones_ at his face. As Agunimon leapt onto her back, Dragomon pulled his tentacles out of the two dinosaur Digimon's grips, and they flew after the two in the air.

" _Vee-Laser!"_ ExVeemon cried, firing his attack at the back of Dragomon's head. The aquatic beast Digimon growled and turned to him, but ExVeemon stayed high up in the air. "Who's up for some deep fried calamari? _Hearty Shatter!"_

The fireballs rained down over Dragomon, but he didn't seem too bothered by them as he opened his mouth and unleashed a stream of water that knocked ExVeemon out of the sky.

" _Nova Blast!"_

" _Pyro Blaster!"_

The attacks hit Dragomon's back, and he turned to them, continuing to spray water. Both Greymon and Growlmon were washed off Whamon's body and splashed into the water.

Nefertimon dropped her _Golden Noose_. Angemon seized the other end, and the two circled Dragomon, wrapping the rope of light around him, binding his arms to his side. On Nefertimon's back, Agunimon fired his _Pyro Punch_ as Angemon unleashed his _Hand of Fate_.

The flaming dragon flew along Angemon's beam as both attacks exploded against Dragomon. The aquatic beast Digimon fell over backwards, just as ExVeemon broke the surface, and he quickly went back under just before Dragomon fell on him.

"Nice shot," Greymon commented as he and Growlmon crawled back up Whamon's body.

ExVeemon resurfaced and joined Nefertimon and Angemon in the air. "Next time please watch where you drop the giant evil Digimon. You almost flattened me."

"Sorry about that," Angemon replied. "Did you see him down there?"

The dragon Digimon shook his head. "I couldn't see anything; too many bubbles."

Shoutmon looked down at the water. "Trust me, he's still down there. There's no way an Ultimate will go down so easily."

As if to prove his point, Dragomon reemerged. With a snarl, he broke through Nefertimon's _Golden Noose_ and held his arms to the sky. _"Tentacle Flapping!"_

His tentacles stretched and shot out in different directions. Angemon, ExVeemon, and Nefertimon were instantly ensnared. Agunimon quickly jumped off the holy beast Digimon's back so he wouldn't be caught as well, and splashed into the water.

"Let them go!" Growlmon demanded. _"Dragon Slash!"_

He threw a blade of plasma from the spike on his elbow. It struck the tentacle holding Angemon, and the angel Digimon pulled free. He used _Omni Tornado_ , and a twister formed around him and Dragomon, sucking up water as well, turning it into a waterspout. Dragomon just growled as he resisted the heavy winds.

"A little help here!" ExVeemon cried as Dragomon's grip on him and Nefertimon tightened.

Angemon took aim, pointing his finger at Dragomon's flailing tentacles. He fired his _Holy Shot_ , the tentacles releasing his friends as they were hit by his energy bullets.

"You humans are beginning to annoy me," Dragomon snarled.

"Right back at ya," ExVeemon replied. _"Vee-Laser!"_

Dragomon swatted the attack aside and shot out a tentacle, this one with the intent to stab. ExVeemon dodged it and used his _Critical Crunch_ , chomping down on the tentacle.

" _Howling!"_ Growlmon cried.

Shoutmon's eyes widened. "No, wait, not that!"

Growlmon unleashed an ear-splitting howl. The others, Dragomon and the DigiDestined alike, all covered their ears to try and block out the sound.

"Stop that!" Dragomon roared, lashing out with his tentacles. One of them struck Growlmon, knocking him back into the water. Greymon immediately charged at the tentacle, using his _Fire Horn_ to slam into the large tendril of flesh. The tentacle immediately wrapped around him, lifting the dinosaur Digimon into the air.

"Hands off my brother!" Nefertimon demanded, firing a _Rosetta Stone_ against his arm. Dragomon simply swatted at her, and she went spinning through the air.

" _Halo Attack!"_ Angemon cried, drawing a circle in the air above him.

Above Dragomon's head, a golden halo appeared. It drifted down until it was level with his neck and then began shrinking, threatening the decapitate him. Dragomon released Greymon and grabbed at the halo. It cut into his tentacle fingers, but he managed to tear it off. "You humans are playing on my last nerve. _Tentacle Claw!"_

His tentacles stretched out towards Angemon, the ends curling to allow him to use them like claws. Angemon's wings curled around him protectively, but it did little to defend against the attack, and he went splashing into the water, losing several feathers in the process.

"Angemon!" Nefertimon shouted.

"Back off!" Dragomon snarled.

He held out his hand and a lethal looking trident appeared in it, and he thrust it out at Nefertimon. She flew out of the way and lashed out with her _Golden Noose_ , wrapping it around the trident. This proved to be a mistake as Dragomon yanked his trident back, pulling the holy beast Digimon with it, and punched her with his giant fist.

"This is ridiculous," Greymon growled to his fellow dinosaur Digimon. "Even if you and I can fight now, we're still not much use while stuck on Whamon. How are we supposed to fight?"

"How's he even standing on the water anyway?" Growlmon asked as he finally crawled back onto the whale Digimon. "The water's got to be a mile deep."

"Hold on," said Shoutmon, "I think Agunimon has a strategy."

Having swum over to Dragomon and crawled up his back while he was distracted, the fire wizard Digimon now stood on his shoulder. _"Pyro Tornado!"_

A series of kicks slammed against the back of Dragomon's neck as a flaming vortex swirled around his head. The aquatic beast Digimon snarled and grabbed Agunimon off his shoulder, throwing him back into the water.

" _Vee-Las-"_

Dragomon swung his trident, striking the dragon Digimon out of the sky. His tentacles immediately shot out to stab Greymon and Growlmon. The two dinosaur Digimon leapt to the side, but Dragomon's tentacles spread outward, once more knocking Growlmon into the water while Greymon jumped over the one intended for him.

"We're getting our butts kicked here," Shoutmon complained.

"Tell me something I don't know," Greymon grumbled. He looked up as Dragomon approached. "This isn't looking good."

"You and your friends are pathetic," the aquatic beast Digimon growled. "You're not fit to challenge me."

" _Nova Blast!"_

Dragomon used his trident to hit away the fireball. "I've wasted enough of my time here." He looked at the others as they splashed around. "It's time for you and your friends to die."

Greymon's clawed hands clenched. "No, no more. I won't let any more of my friends get hurt. I couldn't protect them before, but this time I'm here, and I'm ready." His pupils shrank down to mere specks of black in his eyes. "I'll do whatever it takes to protect my friends. No one is going to stand in my way. No one!"

There was a flash of light, and Greymon began shining brightly. Dragomon hesitated as the others stared at Greymon in surprise. A short distance away, Shoutmon's mouth hung open as he looked at Greymon's glowing form. "That's the… light of Digivolution."

Greymon felt power rising within him, a power far greater than any he felt before. And with it came words that he found himself speaking. _"Greymon Digivolve to… MetalGreymon!"_

The light faded, and Greymon now stood transformed. Appropriately named, almost half his body had become cybernetic. Much larger than before, his torso now had a mechanical chest plate, and his entire right arm had become a large metal claw. His bone-like head plate had turned to steel, and he had what looked to be partly formed metal wings on his back, but not yet developed enough to achieve flight.

Having surfaced, the others looked on in amazement. "No way, is that really Greymon?"

Beside the cyborg dinosaur Digimon, Shoutmon shook his head. "Not anymore. He Digivolved to MetalGreymon. Now he's at the Ultimate level."

"Dude, this is awesome!" ExVeemon exclaimed.

Dragomon's eyes narrowed. "What is this abomination? Not only can humans turn into Digimon, but now they can Digivolve too? I will not stand for this blasphemy! You will die!"

His tentacles shot out to stab MetalGreymon. The cyborg dinosaur Digimon jumped over them and used his _Metal Claw_ attack, slicing off the ends of Dragomon's tentacles.

"How dare you!" the aquatic beast Digimon bellowed.

"How dare I?" MetalGreymon growled back. "How dare _you!_ You who thinks he can just push people around! You who thinks he has the right to decide who lives and who dies! I won't stand for it! I'm taking you down! _Giga Blaster!"_

Compartments opened on his chest and missiles shot out. They exploded against Dragomon, knocking the giant backwards.

"Nice shot," Agunimon commented as he crawled onto Whamon. "Now the tables are turning."

Dragomon rose up from the water. "The only thing turning is my stomach! Human turning into Digimon make me sick! I won't have it! _Thousand Whip!"_

His tentacles came down to strike. MetalGreymon slashed at the air with his metal claw, crying, _"Powerful Flame!"_ Dragomon's tentacle recoiled as a wave of fire flowed from MetalGreymon's claw. But he didn't stop there as he used his _Mega Claw_ , launching his metal arm on a cable to wrap around Dragomon's neck.

Dragomon grasped at the cable around his neck as MetalGreymon began winding it back in, pulling himself towards the aquatic beast Digimon. Dragomon reached for him as he approached, but MetalGreymon fired his _Giga Blaster_ , blasting his hand. When he reached Dragomon's head, he used his still flesh arm to punch the aquatic beast Digimon square in the face.

Dazed, Dragomon stumbled back as MetalGreymon's cable unwrapped from around his neck, and the metal arm reattached to the cyborg dinosaur Digimon. Dragomon glared at MetalGreymon's falling form and used his _Tentacle Claw_ attack. The ends of his tentacles curled into hooks and slashed at MetalGreymon, sending sparks flying as they scraped against the cyborg dinosaur Digimon's metal parts. They still managed to graze some flesh, and MetalGreymon grunted in pain.

"Time to die!" Dragomon declared. _"Forbidden Trident!"_

He threw the deadly trident. MetalGreymon attempted to grab it, but it still stabbed into his chest.

"MetalGreymon!" Nefertimon cried as her brother splashed into the water, the giant trident pushing him beneath the surface.

Dragomon turned to her. "He was never a match for me anyway."

Nefertimon rushed at him. "You hurt my brother!"

She began rapidly firing her _Rosetta Stone_ attack. Angemon and ExVeemon joined her in the air, attacking as well. Dragomon's tentacles shot out, grabbing the three of them. Growlmon, Agunimon, and Shoutmon all began firing their own attacks, but the aquatic beast Digimon just ignored them.

"No more playing around," he told his captives. "I'll crush you into dust."

" _Giga Destroyer!"_

An even more powerful version of MetalGreymon's _Giga Blaster_ exploded against Dragomon's back. The aquatic beast Digimon's hold on the three Digimon loosened, and they pulled away as Dragomon doubled over.

"Miss me?" MetalGreymon asked as he tried to stay afloat.

Dragomon hissed at him. "I saw my trident hit you."

"Then you should have noticed that it struck my metal chest."

Dragomon roared, and his tentacles shot out. ExVeemon, Nefertimon, and Angemon quickly flew over and grabbed MetalGreymon, lifting him out of the water before Dragomon's tentacles found their mark. He growled as they lifted the cyborg dinosaur Digimon out of his reach, but was distracted by a _Pyro Blaster_ from Growlmon and a _Pyro Punch_ from Agunimon.

"Hang on," said Nefertimon. "We'll get you back to Whamon in a moment."

"No," MetalGreymon told her. "Take me up."

"Up?" Angemon repeated, looking at the sky. "Up where?"

"Just up, as high as you can go."

ExVeemon looked confused. "But why?"

"Just do it. Trust me."

The others exchanged curious looks, but decided to do as he said. "Up it is."

And so they flew up, past the clouds, going higher and higher, the forms of Dragomon and Whamon becoming mere specks. MetalGreymon still didn't tell them to let up, and so they kept going, the sky slowly shifting from blue to the starry blackness of space.

"Let go," he said.

"Are you crazy?" Nefertimon cried.

"It's alright," he assured her. "I'll meet you back down there."

Feeling uncertain, but trusting his judgment, they let him go. Gravity seized him, and MetalGreymon plummeted back down. Faster and faster he fell, building up speed. The air around him grew hotter the faster he fell. MetalGreymon bared the heat as flames seemed to engulf his body. His metal parts began glowing orange with heat as he fell from the sky like a meteor, leaving a trail of smoke behind.

Down below, Dragomon looked up at the glowing orange fireball that got closer and closer. A flaming object came speeding towards him, and he recognized the form of MetalGreymon, his metal parts glowing red-hot. With a snarl, Dragomon raised his arms, and his tentacles shot towards the falling Digimon.

MetalGreymon zeroed in on his target, raising his bright red metal arm. _"Metal Slash Revision!"_

Using an enhanced version of his _Metal Slash_ attack, he met Dragomon head on. It happened too fast for any of the bystanders to see it, but an explosion of water went off, sending up giant waves as MetalGreymon splashed into the water.

The flying Digimon came down from the clouds, seeing Dragomon with his arms raised and no sign of MetalGreymon anywhere. They settled down on Whamon beside their friends, who were staring at the unmoving Dragomon.

"What happened?" Nefertimon asked. "Where's MetalGreymon?"

Agunimon shook his head. "I don't know. It happened so fast I couldn't see anything."

Dragomon continued to stand with his arms in the air, his extended tentacles stretched up to the sky. Then his tentacles slowly went limp and dropped down. A gargled cry escaped the aquatic beast Digimon as he split in half, right down the middle. The two halves of his body began dissolving into data at the point where he was cut in half until he vanished completely.

The Dark Undersea Master had been defeated.

 **(A/N: Hooray! Greymon has Digivolved to MetalGreymon. Better yet, he managed to defeat Dragomon, with some help from his friends. Maybe not the most well thought out plan, but it worked. Hopefully this upgrade will make their journey easier. If Tai manages not to drown. Can MetalGreymon actually swim with those metal parts? I don't remember if he did or not on the show. Huh. So, this brings the Dragomon arc to a close. I know it wasn't that long, but there was only so much I could do with them at sea. What will happen when they get to shore? There's still a long way to go.)**

 **MetalGreymon's Attacks:**

 **Mega Claw** **–** _ **Launches his Trident Arm on a cable to slash foes or wrap around them.**_

 **Giga Blaster** **–** _ **Fires 2 organic missiles from the compartments on his chest.**_

 **Metal Slash** **–** _ **Slashes with his metal claw.**_

 **Metal Slash Revision** **–** _ **A more powerful version of**_ ** Metal Slash. (Also known as Metal Slash 2).**

 **Giga Destroyer** **–** _ **A more powerful version of**_ ** Giga Blaster **_**with the destructive capability of a nuclear warhead.**_

 **Powerful Flame** **–** _ **Unleashes a wave of fire from his metal claw.**_

 **Trident Arm** **–** _ **Fires his metal claw like a piston while super heated.**_

 **Over Flame** **–** _ **Shoots fire from his metal claw.**_

 **Metal Arm** **– effects unknown.**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the _DOT _ in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/MetalGreymon**


	25. Chapter 25: Land Ho!

**(A/N: I think I know how MetalGreymon felt when he was burning up last chapter. Florida was fun, but man did I get sunburned. That was definitely not fun. Writing this chapter was though. It's a little shorter than I wanted it to be, but it's still a decent length I think.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Chapter 25: Land Ho!**

As Shoutmon paddled out to try and get to Dragomon's lingering data before it disappeared, the others looked around desperately for MetalGreymon.

"Where is he?" Nefertimon cried as she flew over the ocean. "Does anyone see him?"

"No such luck," ExVeemon replied, flying around the churning water.

"He did hit the water from pretty high up," said Angemon, looking up from where the cyborg dinosaur Digimon had fallen from. "He must have gone down deep."

Agunimon looked down at the water. "And he was heavy to boot. It'll take him a while to swim back up."

"But he'll drown!" Nefertimon exclaimed.

"Who's going to drown?"

Nefertimon turned. Treading water was her brother, having reverted to his human form to reduce his weight to get to the surface faster. Tears of relief filled Nefertimon's eyes as she sped towards him, returning to her human form once she was above him. "Tai!"

He yelped as she landed on top of him, hugging him tightly. Tai began splashing about as his sister clung to him, and Angemon flew over to pick them both up out of the water. "You ok, Tai?"

Tai spat out a mouthful of water. "Never better."

ExVeemon flew over. "You had us worried there for a minute."

Kari punched her brother's shoulder. "Don't ever scare me like that again!"

Angemon carried them back over to Whamon, and one by one, they returned to their human forms.

Takuya went over to Tai and high-fived him. "Nice job with Dragomon. You creamed that guy good."

"But couldn't you have done it a little closer?" Shoutmon complained as he climbed back up Whamon's body. "His data disappeared on me; I couldn't get to it in time. That would have been a great power boost."

Takato gave him a curious look. "What happens to a Digimon's data when its not absorbed?"

Shoutmon just waved it off. "It gets pulled into the data flow and the Digital World uses it for other things, like growing plants, or repairing damage done to it, yadda, yadda."

"How about repairing Whamon?" Davis asked. He tapped his foot on the whale Digimon's side. "Hey, you ok big guy?"

"Ah, he'll be fine," Shoutmon assured them. "He's out cold, but once he wakes up, he can take us the rest of the way with no further issues."

"That's right," said TK, suddenly excited. "We're almost there. I think after this fight, we've earned a rest on the beach."

Tai just laid down where he was. "I could use a rest right now."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Whamon came to about an hour later. And after being filled in on what happened while he was out, they resumed their journey towards land.

"You humans have done an amazing thing," he told them gratefully. "You've freed us from Dragomon's tyrannical rule."

Davis arrogantly rubbed his index finger beneath his nose. "All in a day's work for the DigiDestined Data Squad."

Takuya rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. It was Tai that saved the day."

Takato nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we were pretty much useless against Dragomon."

Shoutmon shrugged. "That's just the difference between Champions and Ultimates."

Tai gave them a serious look. "Hey, don't sell yourselves short. You were all a huge help. I may have landed the final blow, but I never would have won if it wasn't for you guys."

"Don't be so modest, Tai," his sister told him. "You saved the day again."

"And now it's smooth sailing all the way to Cherubimon's castle!" Davis cheered, punching the air.

Shoutmon gave a bark of laughter. "You think our troubles are over? We've still got miles and miles to go once we get to land."

"Which shouldn't be much longer," Whamon reported.

"Right," the dragon Digimon mumbled. "My point is, there's no telling what other evil Digimon we'll run into along the way."

"Well that won't be a problem," said TK. "Now that Tai can become MetalGreymon, our team is a lot stronger."

Shoutmon humphed. "It's great that you're so hopeful, but we also have to be realistic. You may have beaten Dragomon, but he was only an Ultimate. A powerful one for sure, but still just an Ultimate. File Island was a place where Digimon start out. Champions were most likely the strongest Digimon you'd run into. But on the mainland, that's where the 'grown up' Digimon live. I'm talking Ultimates; I'm talking Megas. Megas that Digivolved again! If you think things have been tough so far, just you wait."

The others stared at him with forlorn looks. "Boy, way to kill the mood," Takato muttered.

Shoutmon sighed. "I'm just telling you like it is."

"I'm afraid he's right, children," Whamon added. "You need to be prepared. Evil runs ramped through the Digital World these days. Ever since the guardians were defeated, things have only gotten worse."

Tai blinked. "Guardians? What guardians?"

Shoutmon opened his mouth to reply, then closed it again. "It's not important. It was a long time ago."

The mood became gloomy, but Takuya was determined to lift everyone's spirits. "Hey, don't worry. We'll be able to handle anything that comes our way. Besides," he slapped Tai's back, "if Tai here was able to Digivolve to MetalGreymon, then we should be able to reach the Ultimate level too."

Shoutmon tapped his chin. "Hmm, I guess that's true. Your Digivices seem to draw off your inner strength, allowing you to Digivolve very quickly. Tai became Greymon a little over a month ago, yet he's already Digivolved to MetalGreymon. That should have taken hundreds of years, but somehow you humans are able to rapidly speed up the process."

"Well, I certainly hope it serves you well," Whamon told them, "because here we are. Thank you for choosing the S.S. Whamon. Please keep your hands and legs on the ride until the Whamon has come to a complete stop."

Kari chuckled. "You're funny, Whamon. I'm going to miss you."

The whale Digimon sighed. "I will miss you as well, my friends. But something tells me that we will see each other again."

He swam up to the edge of a low cliff, lifting his tail for the teens to use as a ramp. They crawled up it and stepped onto solid ground for the first time in over a week. Davis actually dropped to his knees and began kissing the ground. "It's so good to be back on dry land!"

"Once we get rid of our sea legs you mean," Takato agreed, trying to gain his balance.

Tai turned to Whamon. "We can't thank you enough for helping us."

"On the contrary, my friends, it is I who can't thank you enough for defeating Dragomon. If you ever need a ride across the ocean again, be sure to give me a call."

With that, he submerged, giving them one last farewell wave with his tail. And then he was gone. And just like that, the seven of them were on their own once again.

"Well, that was an adventure," TK remarked, stretching his arms.

"Our adventure isn't over yet," Tai reminded him. "We still have a long way to go."

"Yeah," Davis grumbled, clutching his stomach, "but can we eat first? I'm famished."

Takuya was quick to agreed. "Yeah, we haven't had a decent meal in days."

"We haven't had _anything_ to eat in days," Takato pointed out.

Shoutmon pointed to the sky. "Alright, that settles it! Everyone spread out and find something to eat. Tonight, we feast. Tomorrow, we head out."

"Yeah!" the others cried.

After agreeing to meet back where they were once they'd gathered enough food, they all went in search of anything edible. Fortunately, there were several trees with fruits in them a short distance from the shore that looked very appealing.

"Hey, coconuts!" Davis exclaimed, running over to a tree. He wrapped his arms and legs around the trunk and began to inch his way to the top. Shoutmon watched with a raised eyebrow, having decided to tag along with him since he decided that Davis was the most accident prone of the group.

"Need a hand?" he called up to him.

Davis continued to scoot up to the top. "No, I'm good. Nearly there."

He reached up, feeling for the hard round fruit. His fingers closed over one, but had he not been wearing gloves, he would have noticed that while what he grabbed was round, it felt nothing like a coconut. He only realized it when it started screaming.

Startled, Davis fell out of the tree. Shoutmon yelped and dove out of the way as Davis landed on his rear end and fell forward. A moment later, several coconuts dropped onto his head.

"Ouch," Shoutmon muttered for him. "You alright?"

A large bump sprouted on Davis' head. "Don't worry, my head is harder than any coconut. I think I broke my tailbone though."

He felt whatever he had grabbed attempting to get out of his grasp and glanced at it. He was greeted by a face with large wide eyes on a yellow and white sphere with what seemed to be a card floating over its head.

Both Davis and the creature began screaming. Their cries brought the rest of the group rushing over.

"You ok?" Tai asked. "We heard screaming."

The creature pulled free of Davis' grasp and floated into the air, staring at the teens with wide eyes.

"Hey," said Takato, "it looks like a yellow and white PokéBall with a card on its head."

Shoutmon scoffed. "I don't know what a PokéBall is, but that _is_ a card on its head. That's Cardmon."

"Who?" Takuya asked.

"Cardmon," TK replied, checking his Digivice. "He's a Rookie level Digimon that's capable of putting a curse on his enemies' stats, and can even create cards of other Digimon, whatever that means. Huh, it says that there are both aquatic and land based Cardmon, and different levels of them."

"Yeah," Shoutmon confirmed, "there are eight Cardmon in all. Four for the land type's, the Rookie, Champion, Ultimate, and Mega, and four more for the aquatic type. For some reason, their name doesn't change when they Digivolve." He received questioning looks from the teens. "Hey, I didn't create them."

"It's so cute," Kari commented.

"Even cute guys can be dangerous," Davis reminded her. "Remember Vilemon?" This got him strange looks from the others. "What? He wasn't cute?"

"Stay away from me!" Cardmon shouted. _"Booster Pack!"_

The card on the top of his head spun around rapidly and began flinging cards with Digimon on them at the teens with enough force for the sides to cut like knives.

"Oww, paper cut!" Davis yelped as the edge of the cards whizzed past him.

Shoutmon glared and took a threatening step toward the card Digimon. "You looking for a fight?"

"Wait, stop!" a voice pleaded from up above. From out of the same tree, a small pink rabbit-like Digimon wearing a red scarf hopped down. "Please don't hurt him!"

Kari's eyes lit up. "Aww, that one's cute too!"

"Cute is right," TK agreed, looking at his Digivice. "That's Cutemon, a Rookie level fairy Digimon. Looks like most of her techniques are healing based, but she can also attack with a song that sends out shock waves."

"T-That's right," Cutemon stammered. "And if you try and hurt either of us, I'll start singing!"

"Hey, momentai," Takato said, using his friend, Henry's, favorite word, "we're not here to hurt anyone."

"Not as long as they don't hurt us first," Tai added warningly.

Cardmon gave them a weary look. "Then you're not with the snatchers?"

Takuya blinked. "The who now?"

"We're not with anyone but each other," TK assured them. "We only just got here now."

"Yeah, I was looking for food and thought you were a coconut," Davis explained.

Cardmon and Cutemon exchanged a look. "So you're not going to hurt us?" the latter asked.

"We don't even know you," Tai pointed out. "Why would we hurt you?"

The two Digimon breathed sighs of relief. "That's a relief," they said together.

"Sorry I attacked you," Cardmon added. "We thought you were with the snatchers."

"Nope, no snatchers," Shoutmon assured them. "Just some hungry travelers searching for some food."

"And a bed," Davis muttered, rubbing his backside. "And a bath. And a place to stay for a while. And a-"

"They get it," the others chorused.

Cardmon and Cutemon exchanged another look and put their heads together. The teens caught phrases like "…trust them?" and "…don't seem dangerous." Soon they seemed to come to a decision, and gave the teens a smile.

"Well, if you want, you can come back to our village," Cardmon offered.

"Really?" Takato asked eagerly.

Cutemon nodded. "We always welcome weary travelers, as long as you promise not to cause any trouble."

"Trust us," said Tai, "we've had more than enough trouble. We've got no interest in starting any ourselves."

"Then you're more than welcome. Just let me fix this first." She walked over to Davis and held up her hands. _"Healing Glow!"_

Her hands began glowing. Light began pouring out of them and flowed over Davis. The pain in is head and rear end slowly faded. The bump on his head shrank down until it was completely gone, and his paper cuts from Cardmon's attack sealed shut, not even leaving a scar.

Davis' eyes were wide with amazement. "Whoa, cool. You're like a white mage."

The fairy Digimon blinked. "A what?"

"Don't bother," Shoutmon told her. "These humans say really weird things sometimes."

Takuya rolled his eyes. "As if you have room to talk."

At that moment, Davis' stomach rumbled, loudly. The others stared at him, and he grinned stupidly, rubbing the back of his head. "Any chance you can fix my hunger pains too?"

Cardmon smiled. "Of course, once we get to the village. Come on, it's this way."

And so the teens followed the two Digimon. After Devimon and Dragomon, they were entitled to a break. Surely their troubles were behind them. Right?

 **(A/N: Yes, they are most certainly entitled to a break, but will they get one? The Dragomon arc is over, and we're moving on to the next. Oh, wait, I said that last time. I guess this is more of the Dragomon arc blending into the next one. Just a warning, this next arc is going to take a darker tone. You'll see why in the next few chapters. Here's something to ponder though, who are these snatchers Cardmon and Cutemon are referring to, and will our heroes really find sanctuary at this village. All this and more will be answered next time.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the _DOT _ in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Cardmon**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Cutemon**


	26. Chapter 26: A Friendly Village

**(A/N: Ok, so this chapter is a little bit of a filler. We can't have a plot driven chapter each and every time with one enemy after another appearing. But even though this one is meant to be more fun and humorous, it's still a setup for the upcoming arc. So lets get started.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Chapter 26: A Friendly Village**

It was a quaint little village, the kind that usually appeared in anime that took place during the feudal era. Several Digimon, ranging from In-Training to Champions, went about their daily lives, although many stopped to stare as Cardmon and Cutemon came wandering into the village accompanied by six humans.

"Hey, guys," said a Digimon that resembled a flower. "What are those things?"

"Floramon, don't be rude," Cutemon scolded. "These are our new friends, they're called humons."

"Um, that's _humans_ ," Takato corrected.

"Right, humans. This is Floramon. He and I work together at the bathhouse."

Kari's face lit up. "You have a bathhouse?"

Davis, however, had other things on his mind as he stared at the flower Digimon. "Wait, that thing is a dude?"

"Davis!" the others snapped.

"What? It looks like a girl."

Shoutmon jumped up and punched him over the head. "Idiot!" He turned and bowed to Floramon in apology. "Please excuse them. They're from a different world, so they've never seen Digimon before."

Floramon raised an eyebrow. "Um, ok, I guess you're forgiven."

He wandered off, still looking at Davis strangely. The others sighed before glaring at him. "Try not to insult the locals," Tai told him.

Davis' shoulders sank. "Well, I'm sorry, he looked like a girl. And how are you supposed to tell apart two Digimon of the same species anyway, let alone what gender they are?"

"Well, his voice was a bit of a giveaway," TK replied.

"I wasn't asking you, TQ."

"Actually, you kind of asked all of us," Takato pointed out.

Shoutmon sighed. "Most Digimon of the same species can be either male or female, though some species are exclusively only one gender." He nodded at TK. "All Angemon, for example, are only male. Some Digimon even end up changing genders when they Digivolve. Oh, and in case you couldn't tell, I'm a guy."

Davis just stared. "That's really weird."

"What, that I'm a guy?"

"No, the whole gender-bender thing you guys have going on. How do relationships even work in those cases?"

"Davis, just let it go," Tai told him. "Quite frankly, there's a lot about Digimon that we don't understand and will never be able to. Just go with it."

"To be fair," Shoutmon relented, "there's a lot about you humans that I don't understand either. I still can't wrap my mind around that reproducing stuff you told me about. I mean, I understand mating, we Digimon do that too, but how does that create a new life? The only way a brand new Digimon is created is during an extremely rare case when a great deal of data comes together to create one, usually from the lingering data another Digimon leaves behind after it's destroyed."

"Oh, so it's like mitosis?" Takato asked.

"My toes what? What's that?"

"Anyway," Kari said loudly, attempting to change the subject, "Cutemon, didn't you say you work at a bathhouse?"

The fairy Digimon nodded. "Yeah, we all contribute here and have our own jobs."

"Any chance I could get a soak?"

"Yeah, me too," TK agreed.

"Same here," said Takato.

Cutemon gave them a smile. "Of course. But first you'll have to meet our village leader. She'll decide if you're safe, or if you're an enemy."

Tai placed a hand on his hip. "So we haven't earned your trust yet?"

"Sorry," Cardmon told him, "but those are the rules. We can't take any chances with the snatchers." He smiled. "But don't worry, you'll be judged fairly. I'll even vouch for you."

"Well then," Takuya muttered, "we might as well get this over with."

"It'll be fine," Cutemon assured them. "And once you get the ok, you can stop by for a long hot bath."

"After we eat," Davis insisted.

"Yeah, what he said," Shoutmon agreed.

Cardmon motioned for them to follow. "Come on, I'll take you."

Cutemon waved goodbye as the teens followed the card Digimon through the village, receiving more strange and suspicious stares from the resident Digimon. They eventually came to a vegetable garden that grew giant vegetables, some growing even taller than the teens' heads.

"Whoa, did we shrink?" Davis asked. "These things are huge!"

Cardmon gave him a strange look. "They always grow this big here." He flew higher into the sky. "Hey, Kazemon, I have some visitors here to see you."

From out of the giant vegetable patch, a fairy Digimon with butterfly wings and a rather skimpy outfit flew up in the air and settled down next to them. "Visitors, you say?"

Cardmon nodded. "From another world."

The human boys stared at Kazemon in wonder. "Wow," Takuya muttered, "if I Zoe weren't my girlfriend, I'd totally go for her, even if she is a Digimon."

Shoutmon thumped his chest. "Sorry, but I only have Renamon in my heart." He held up one of the Digimon cards Cardmon had thrown at them early, which just happened to have the fox Digimon's picture on it, and kissed it. "Wait for me, my love."

Kari frowned, looking back and forth between TK and the fairy Digimon, but didn't say anything, though a scowl still crossed her face.

Kazemon chuckled. "Cute first impression, boys." She walked over to them. "I can see what you mean, Cardmon. They're definitely not from around here."

Tai snapped out of his stupor. "Yeah, and we're not enemies either."

The fairy Digimon looked him up and down, her smile dropping. "What infiltrating enemy would admit they were?"

"Ok, that's a fair question," Takato admitted. "But we really don't mean any harm. We're not with the scavengers."

Beneath her headgear that hid her eyes, Kazemon raised an eyebrow. "You mean the snatchers?"

"Yeah, them," said Davis. "Um, who are they anyway?"

The answer came from them as another Digimon approached. "They're a team of evil Digimon that reek havoc on our village."

Kazemon nodded to the cat Digimon. "Any sign of them, Gatomon?"

The newcomer shook her head. "All's clear for now." She looked at the teens suspiciously. "Except for them."

"I'm determining if they're a threat or not right now," Kazemon told her.

"Hey, come on," said Shoutmon, "we're all friends here. In fact, Kari her can actually turn into a Nefertimon."

If he thought this would help, he was wrong as Gatomon glared. "You don't say."

Kari glanced at Shoutmon. "Why should that matter?"

He snapped his fingers. "Oh, right, you don't know. Gatomon is an alternate Champion stage of Salamon." At her blank look, he added, "Nefertimon's Rookie level."

Her eyes widened. "Oh, that's cool. It's kind of like we're sisters."

Gatomon pointed a gloved claw at her. "It makes us no such thing! And if you give me any reason to suspect that you might hurt anyone in this village, I'll scratch your eyes out."

"Gatomon!" Kazemon snapped. "These people are our guests, treat them as such."

Takato blinked. "I feel like we've been here before. Yeah, this was just like when we were in the caves of Infinity Mountain."

Gatomon humphed. "I don't know what happened in Infinity Mountain, just know that I have my eye on you."

Having said her piece, she turned and left. Kazemon sighed and shook her head. "You have to forgive her. You see, one of the snatchers used to be her best friend." She looked at Kari. "And she was of the same species as her."

A sympathetic look crossed Takuya's face, and he looked back at Gatomon. "No wonder she's so suspicious. How can you trust strangers when you can't even trust your friends?"

TK stepped forward. "Excuse me, but who exactly are these snatchers? What sort of trouble are they causing?"

The fairy Digimon sighed again. "They come one or two times a month to destroy different parts of our village and kidnap someone."

"Whoa, they actually kidnap people?" Davis asked.

Kazemon nodded. "That's why we call them snatchers. And no one that's been taken has ever come back. We've sent rescue parties, but they've never returned."

Tai nodded. "Now I see why you don't trust us."

"But I do trust Cardmon," Kazemon replied. "I've known him since I was a Rookie. Besides, Cardmon has a very shy nature. If he trusted you enough to bring you here, then I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, but consider yourselves on probation."

Takato nodded his head in gratitude. "Thank you, ma'am, but we really can't stay long. We have to find a way to get back to our world. We were just hoping to find some food and shelter for the night."

Kazemon smiled. "Well, we can certainly help with that. We have plenty of food. Eat up and rest. As long as you don't cause any trouble, you're welcome here."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"Ah, this feels great," Takato sighed as he sank into the hot water.

"You said it," Davis agreed. "I don't realize how sore I was before."

"Well," said Tai, "we have been in a lot of battles. Devimon, Dragomon, all those other bad Digimon."

Apparently, the bathhouse that Cutemon worked at was more of a hot spring resort. The teens were currently enjoying a good soak in a spring that was large enough to swim in.

"Hey, Kari," Tai yelled to the large wall separating the boy's side from the girl's side, "you ok over there?"

"Never better!" Kari called back. "This was exactly what I needed!"

"That's for sure," TK replied. He looked around. "Hey, where's Shoutmon?"

"Present!" came the dragon Digimon's voice from the other side of the wall. This was followed by a scream from Kari, followed by a scuffle before Shoutmon came flying over the wall to the boy's side. He splashed into the water and floated to the surface with dizzy swirls in his eyes and a bump on his head.

"Shoutmon," Takuya snapped, "why were you on the girl's side?"

"What?" the dragon Digimon argued. "I wasn't trying to peep or anything. Besides, most Digimon are naked all the time anyway, so I don't care if I see you humans in the buff. Davis, what are you doing?"

The boy in question had suddenly pressed himself against the wall and seemed to be looking for something. "I'm trying to find a hole. Don't these walls always have hidden holes somewhere to look through?"

Tai's eye twitched irritably. "And why would you be searching for a hole?"

Apparently, Davis didn't pick up the warning/accusation in the older boy's voice, nor did the fact that Tai was Kari's brother register to him as he turned to give him a look that stated the obvious. "To see the other side, duh."

Two fists slammed into Davis' face, one from Tai, the other from TK. Davis went down, splashing into the water with his feet in the air.

"Idiot," Takuya muttered.

Shoutmon shook his head. "A total pervert."

"As if you have any room to talk!" Tai snapped.

The dragon Digimon scoffed. "I don't want to see a naked human. I just wanted some more room to stretch out; this side is too crowded."

Takato blinked. "You know, now that I think about it, when we Spirit Evolve, only Angemon and Agunimon have clothes. And I guess Nefertimon to some extent." He turned red. "Wow, I'm suddenly feeling really self-conscious."

"What are you guys talking about over there?" came Kari's voice from the other side of the wall.

"Nothing!" the boys called back.

"Just guy stuff!" Tai added.

The door to the bath opened and Floramon entered carrying a tray with drinks. "How is everything?"

The flower Digimon smiled. "I'm glad to hear it. Care for something to drink?"

Tai accepted one. "Sure thanks. You've got great service here."

Floramon smiled. "You flatter me. Anyone who's a friend of Cutemon is a friend of mine." His smile vanished. "Um, is that young man ok?"

They looked back at Davis, who was still underwater with his legs in the air, bubbles rising where his head was submerged. Takato quickly lifted his head above the water, but Davis seemed to be out of it, frothing at the mouth.

A loud explosion suddenly shook the land, causing Floramon to drop the drinks. Another one followed, and Takato dropped Davis. His head hit the wall, and he seemed to snap out of his daze. "What happened?"

"Wait here," said Floramon, looking pale. "I'll go check."

He hurried away, hoping it wasn't what he thought it was. The boys exchanged worried looks as Kari's voice called to them. "What was that?"

"Not sure!" Tai called back. "It felt like an explosion!"

This was followed by another, this one much closer. The wall trembled, and the boards fell over. On reflex, the boys turned to look at the falling boards, and they received an eyeful of what was on the other side.

Kari was in the water, having risen to her feet when the explosion hit, as had the boys. For a few seconds, they simply stared at each other, then, all at once, a shower of blood flew from the noses of four of the boys while a look of horror crossed over Tai's. Kari's face suddenly turned red in embarrassment as tears of humiliation filled her eyes. She cried out, crossing her arms over her chest, and crouched down into the water again.

Shoutmon just blinked, looking confused. "I don't get it."

The door opened again, and both Floramon and Cutemon hurried in. "We've got trouble!" the latter shouted.

" _I've_ got trouble!" Kari cried. "Hurry and throw me my towel!"

"Forget the towel!" said Floramon. "The snatchers are here!"

 **(A/N: Trouble's brewing. Our heroes have barely had a break before a new problem has arisen. But who are these snatchers? Why are they kidnapping Digimon? For what purpose? And, most importantly, is there anything the teens can do to stop them. Don't forget, they're on the mainland now; there's going to be a lot more powerful Digimon than there were on File Island. The plot for this arc is getting started, and it's going to be darker than the last two, so be prepared for next time.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the _DOT _ in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Floramon**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Kazemon**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Gatomon**


	27. Chapter 27: The Snatchers

**(A/N: I had someone point out that I ended up doing an "obligatory hot spring" moment since each Season has had one. Actually, that was unintentional. It's been so long since I watch past Seasons that I had forgotten any hot spring moments, but I checked, and they were right. Funny how my story just happened to end up with one. I never had any intention of putting a scene like that in there, it just ended up that way. Ironic, no? But enough about that. Lets take a look at who these mysterious snatchers are.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Chapter 27: The Snatchers**

A sinister laughter rose above the screams of the villagers as beams of burning darkness flew through the air. Houses exploded as the user made her way through the village, taking delight in the destruction she caused.

"Such beautiful destruction," she cooed. "We shouldn't have waited so long before coming back. _Evil Wing!"_

A wave of darkness in the form of bats flowed outward, burning all in its path. The fallen angel Digimon chuckled as another house crumbled and more Digimon fled from the wreckage.

"LadyDevimon!"

The fallen angel Digimon turned as her name was called, sneering at the one who dared to challenge her. "Well, if it isn't my old friend. Still a Champion I see."

Gatomon glared. "And you're still a raging psychopath."

LadyDevimon chuckled. "Oh, you mean all this?" She motioned to the destruction she had caused. "We're just having a bit of fun while we fulfill our master's request."

Behind her, Kazemon came in for a landing. "You're master is even more twisted and evil than you are."

Slowly, LadyDevimon turned to her. "You would do well not to speak ill of my master."

"You mean speak the truth?"

LadyDevimon hissed at her. _"Stun Wave!"_

A whip made of electricity appeared in her hand and flew at the fairy Digimon. Kazemon quickly used _Tempest Twist_ , dropping to a handstand as she spun around while kicking, causing a tornado. She was lost within the vortex, causing LadyDevimon to miss, and the tornado flew at her.

" _Slap!"_ the fallen angel Digimon cried. Her hand flew out into the approaching tornado, striking Kazemon with such force that she was knocked right out of the vortex. LadyDevimon sneered at her mockingly. "Pathetic."

" _Cat Punch!"_

Gatomon's fist slammed into LadyDevimon cheek. The fallen angel Digimon's lip split open, and she sent a cold glare at the cat Digimon. Her clawed hand shot out, wrapping around Gatomon's throat, and lifted her into he air. "Now is that any way to treat your BFF?"

"You're no friend of mine," Gatomon seethed.

"You're right," LadyDevimon agreed. "Otherwise, I might feel bad for doing this. _Darkness Wave!"_

A wave of darkness flowed over Gatomon. She felt her own power turn to dark energy, burning her from the inside, and she began to wail.

"This is your punishment for striking me," LadyDevimon whispered evilly. "No one but my master is allowed to spill my blood."

Gatomon cracked open an eye. "You're sick."

LadyDevimon brought her closer. "Perhaps I should bring you to him this time so he can show you the sweetness of suffering."

" _Hurricane Wave!"_

The cry came from Kazemon. Small tornados appeared on her fingertips that she brought down on LadyDevimon's shoulders like whips. The fallen angel Digimon turned to her, a cruel smile creeping up her face. "That wasn't very nice. Whips are my specialty. You stole my technique." She held out her hand, and it turned into a long sharp spike. "Guess I'll use this instead. _Black Wing!"_

Still holding Gatomon, she lunged at the fairy Digimon, swinging the spike on her hand. Fortunately, Kazemon was extremely light on her feet, and very flexible, allowing her to dance out of the way of LadyDevimon's attack.

" _Fairy Dance!"_ she cried, performing a somersault kick.

Her foot hit LadyDevimon in the chest, knocking her back and causing her to drop Gatomon. But the fallen angel Digimon didn't even seem to be hurt as she sneered at Kazemon. "Nice move. I might have to start getting serious. _Evil Wing!"_

A swarm of bats flew at Kazemon, knocking her back. LadyDevimon leapt into the air and brought her elbow slamming down on the fairy Digimon's gut, knocking the wind out of her, and Kazemon began sputtering and gasping.

"Oh my," LadyDevimon taunted as she stood up. "Did that hurt? Here, let me make it better."

She slammed her foot down on the spot where her elbow had landed and began digging in. Kazemon began grumbling in agony, but still managed to summon enough energy for an attack. _"Hurricane Gale!"_

A blast of wind flew from her hand, but it was weak, and LadyDevimon avoided it by simply leaning back. "You would think you'd have learned by now that you're no match for us. You couldn't stop us last month, or the month before that, and you won't stop us this time." She raised a clawed finger to her lips, running her tongue along it. "But maybe we need to drill that lesson in a little deeper."

She raised her clawed hand, ready to strike, but suddenly sensed the attack coming. She jumped out of the way, avoiding Shoutmon's _Fiery Fastball_. "Pick on someone your own size!" the dragon Digimon told her.

The teens arrived a few moments later, only half dressed, and stared up at LadyDevimon. "Whoa," Davis muttered. "Talk about your S&M enthusiast."

"Davis, that's gross," Kari muttered.

LadyDevimon scowled "Now what are those things supposed to be?"

"Humans from the Real World," Takuya replied. "And we're going to kick your butt if you don't get out of here."

LadyDevimon laughed. "Oh, that's rich. I don't know what's more ridiculous, that humans could actually be in the Digital World, or that you think you stand a chance against me. Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?"

It was a rhetorical question, but Takato took it seriously as he checked his Digivice. "LadyDevimon, Ultimate level, special attack _Evil Wing_. She's one nasty witch who's as powerful as she is sadistic."

"And I can assure you, I'm quite powerful," the fallen angel Digimon taunted.

"Well, so are we," Davis insisted. "Lets show her. _Execute! Spirit Evolution… ExVeemon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Agunimon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Growlmon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Nefertimon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Angemon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… MetalGreymon!"_

With their transformations complete, the teens looked at MetalGreymon. "Cool," said Growlmon. "We can go straight to the Ultimate level once we unlock it."

LadyDevimon clapped her hands together, pretending to look worried. "Oh dear, I now have one, two, three, four, five Champions and an Ultimate challenging me. What's a girl to do?"

"You could just leave," ExVeemon suggested.

LadyDevimon just grinned. "Or I could simply kill you."

The dragon Digimon humphed. "You could try. But first I have a question for you. What's that growth on your shoulder? Is that part of your outfit, or a second head?"

The fallen angel Digimon scowled at him. "Cute. Now I have a question for you. What's that on your face?"

ExVeemon felt his face. "My face?"

"This!" Almost too fast to see, LadyDevimon flew at ExVeemon and kicked him in the head, sending the dragon Digimon crashing to the ground.

"ExVeemon!" Angemon cried. He flew at LadyDevimon, swinging his staff. _"Angel Rod!"_

Smirking, LadyDevimon raised her arm, the staff slamming against it. Her left hand extended into a spike again as she used her _Black Wing_ attack, slashing the angel Digimon across the chest.

" _Rosetta Stone!"_ Nefertimon cried, firing several stone slabs.

LadyDevimon's grin widened. "How cute." She lashed out with several punches and kicks, shattering the stone slabs. "Got any other fancy tricks?"

" _Mega Claw!"_ MetalGreymon cried, firing his metal arm on a cable.

LadyDevimon caught his claw, grasping the blades. But she didn't expect MetalGreymon to lunge at her, the cable pulling him along until his body reattached to his arm. LadyDevimon kept a firm grip on his claw, but was pushed to the ground by his weight, her back slamming into the rocky ground. Her arms trembled with the effort to hold the claw back, the middle blade mere inches from her face.

"Impressive," she commended. "So you're not just a Digimon wannabe. But you're still out of your league. _Darkness Wave!"_

A wave of darkness flowed out of her body and into MetalGreymon. He cried out as his own energy was turned against him, and LadyDevimon threw him off her.

"How about some combo moves," Growlmon suggested to Agunimon and Nefertimon. _"Dragon Spine!"_

" _Nile Jewelry!"_

" _Pyro Darts!"_

Quills, jewels, and bits of fire flew at LadyDevimon. The grin never left her face as she produced her electric whip and waved it around her body, defending against the attacks. She then lashed out with her whip, wrapping the end around Growlmon's neck and pulling him forward to use _Slap_.

Nefertimon flew at her, but the fallen angel Digimon simply used _Bat Blitz_ , firing lasers from her eyes to blast the holy beast Digimon out of the sky. She then pulled her whip from Growlmon, swinging it at Agunimon. It coiled around his leg, and she lifted him into the air, slamming him back down.

ExVeemon finally managed to get to his feet, rubbing his head where he had been hit. "That's going to leave a mark."

LadyDevimon glanced at him. "Well, look who's awake."

The dragon Digimon glared at her. "Try this, you freaky dominatrix. _Vee-Laser!"_

LadyDevimon simply fired more lasers, the two attacks colliding and exploding in the air. She fired again, but ExVeemon took to the air and settled beside his friends. All were on their feet again, looking ready for round two.

"I must say," said LadyDevimon, "this is proving to be a more entertaining visit than I thought. I didn't think anyone besides Kazemon and Gatomon would dare to stand up to me."

She glanced at the two in question to find Cutemon standing beside them, a hand over each one. The two Champion Digimon were glowing as light poured out of Cutemon's hands and onto them. She panicked when she saw LadyDevimon looking at her and fled. And when the glowing stopped, both Kazemon and Gatomon got up, looking much better.

LadyDevimon looked surprised at first, but then smiled. "Well, well, I think we found what we were looking for. This ought to make the master very happy."

MetalGreymon took a step forward. "I don't think so. Your snatching days are over. You got the jump on us before, but you can't beat all of us."

The fallen angel Digimon roared with laughter. "Beat you? I wasn't trying to beat you. I was just having a bit of fun. I could kill you any time I wish."

"You're all alone," Agunimon told her. "But we've got friends."

LadyDevimon shook a finger at him. "Ah, ah. I have a friend too. And I think it's time I introduced you to him."

She placed two fingers in her mouth and whistled. From the other side of the village, there was another explosion. LadyDevimon grinned at the looks on the DigiDestined's faces. "Didn't you notice that I've been saying 'we' this whole time, or did you think I was just talking in the third person?"

ExVeemon humphed. "I thought you were referring to that thing on your shoulder."

Beneath where LadyDevimon was hovering, one of the houses exploded. Slowly, from out of the cloud of smoke, a black and red Digimon walked towards them. It resembled a skeleton crossed with a knight, and it had a giant eye on its chest and each shoulder.

Shoutmon's fists clenched. "Oh, crap, that's Duskmon."

"Great," Agunimon muttered. "So who's Duskmon?"

"A Digimon who's an evil incarnation of darkness itself. He's only a Champion, but he's strong enough to rival an Ultimate. Don't expect any mercy from him; this guy is ruthless."

Duskmon came to a stop. "Mercy? Mercy is nothing more than a word the weak use when they're confronted by their betters."

LadyDevimon flew down to land beside the demon Digimon. "Glad you could join us."

Duskmon didn't even glance at her. "I was rounding up the villagers for selection, as ordered."

The fallen angel Digimon arrogantly rubbed her chin. "That won't be necessary. Turns out they were hiding a Cutemon here. The master will be able to make good use of her."

"Then seize her and we'll be on our way."

LadyDevimon chuckled. "I would, but it seems we've got a few brave or foolish individuals here that wish to stop us."

Duskmon didn't move, but the air around him seemed to shift. "In that case, lets dispose of them."

Blood red blades slid out of the mouths of the dragon skulls that served as his hands, and he rushed towards the DigiDestined. Leaping into the air, he brought a blade down with the intent to cut Angemon in half. The angel Digimon managed to block with his staff, but Duskmon's foot shot out, slamming into his chest. He then whirled around and used _Brute Strike_ , slashing Nefertimon and sending her falling from the sky.

Growlmon used _Pyro Blaster_ , but Duskmon teleported out of the way with his _Ghost Move_. He reappeared on the dinosaur Digimon's back and delivered a roundhouse kick to his head. MetalGreymon made a move towards the demon Digimon as Growlmon went down, but LadyDevimon moved in his path. "I don't think so, big guy. You're mine."

The cyborg dinosaur Digimon's eyes narrowed. "Fine then. _Over Flame!"_

He slashed at her, a stream of fire following his claws as they sliced through the air. LadyDevimon swerved out of the way, giving MetalGreymon an arrogant smile. "Playing with fire, huh? Well, you know what happens when play with fire. You get burned!"

She unleashed her _Evil Wing_ attack, and the flow of bats collided with MetalGreymon, the dark energy burning straight through his metal chest in a way his fire never could.

Over by Duskmon, Agunimon unleashed a stream of fire with his _Blaze Gust_. Kazemon followed up by throwing her _Hurricane Gale_ into the mix. The wind amplified the fire attack and flew at Duskmon, consuming him in a stream of fire.

A grin crept up Agunimon's face, and he punched the air. "We got him!" He gave Kazemon a thumbs up. "Nice move."

She smiled at him. "Not too shabby yourself. You know, you look pretty good as a Digimon."

A blush stained Agunimon's face, but it was short-lived as a cry of, _"Geist Blade Storm!"_ came from within the fire. The flames dispersed as Duskmon burst out, slashing his blades all round, the image of a blood red full moon surrounding him. He flew at the two who attacked him, slashing them all over their bodies until they dropped from the sky.

" _Golden Noose!"_ Nefertimon cried, the rope of light flying out to coil around the demon Digimon.

" _Hand of Fate!"_ Angemon cried, firing a beam.

Gatomon jumped up onto his shoulder to join in on the group attack. _"Cat Laser!"_

"And for the final touch," said ExVeemon. _"Vee-Laser!"_

Duskmon growled and leapt into the air. He couldn't go far with the _Golden Noose_ holding him, but he managed to avoid the attacks. Nefertimon pulled on the rope of light, attempting to drag him back down, but Duskmon shifted the position of his arms, allowing his blades to cut through the rope.

" _Lunar Plasma!"_ He drew a circle in the air around himself, creating another red moon, obstructing him from view. Then he shot out of it towards the others. The movement was too fast to be seen, but the sound of his blade cutting through the air was heard. Nefertimon, Angemon, ExVeemon, and Gatomon remained frozen for a moment, then all four toppled over.

Up in the air, LadyDevimon was currently moving around as MetalGreymon continued to slash at her with his metal claw. "It looks like your friends are out of commission."

He knew he shouldn't allow himself to get distracted, yet he couldn't help it, and he glanced at the others. LadyDevimon smirked and flew at him, using her _Slap_ attack. She struck with such force that MetalGreymon felt the sting of it straight through his steel headpiece. "Eyes on me," she told him.

"Oh, they're on you," he growled. "Locked on you. _Giga Blaster!"_

The panels on his chest opened, launching missiles. LadyDevimon just grinned and used her _Bat Blitz_ attack to fire lasers from her eyes. They struck the missiles before they were clear of his body, and he was blasted back from the explosion, landing near his friends.

As LadyDevimon came in for a landing, Duskmon went over to her. "I think they know their place now," she told him.

Growlmon was struggling to his feet, feeling as if he had a concussion. "You wish."

The others joined him, grouping up. "Yeah, we're just getting started." Agunimon insisted.

"Oh my, so stubborn," LadyDevimon commented. "But we have a job to do, so we can't waste time playing with you anymore. Ready, Duskmon?"

He didn't bother to answer her. _"Deadly Gaze!"_

The eyes on his chest and shoulders looked directly at the DigiDestined and fired beams as LadyDevimon unleashed her _Evil Wing_. The two attacks swirled together, creating an explosion of darkness the DigiDestined were caught up in. And when the smoke cleared, the teens were back in human form, unconscious, as were Kazemon and Gatomon.

"Well, that takes care of that," LadyDevimon commented.

"Not quite," Duskmon replied, and began walking towards them, sliding his blades against each other with obvious intent.

LadyDevimon put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Hold up, lets not kill them just yet. Lets tell the master about this first. He might want them alive for something."

Duskmon was silent, his expression giving away nothing. _"Ghost Move!"_ He teleported away. A few seconds later, he was back, holding a struggling Cutemon in his arms. "Lets go."

On the sidelines, Shoutmon was sweating nervously. Yet he swallowed and took a step forward, pointing at them. "H-Hey, let her go!"

Duskmon turned to him, his expression cold. He slowly walked in his direction, and Shoutmon's extended finger drooped. "You want her?" the demon Digimon asked. "Then try and take her."

"Help me!" Cutemon pleaded.

Beads of sweat ran down Shoutmon's head, and he unconsciously took a step back.

"That's what I thought," Duskmon replied. He delivered a kick to Shoutmon, sending the dragon Digimon crashing into a wall, then glanced at LadyDevimon. "We're leaving. _Ghost Move!"_

He teleported away with Cutemon, leaving his companion behind. Smirking, she turned to the other Digimon who hadn't dared to fight and winked at them. "See you again."

Then she flew off, cackling all the while.

 **(A/N: The snatchers have revealed themselves, and they're proving not only to be quite menacing, but very powerful. Our heroes didn't stand a chance. And now Cutemon has been kidnapped. But for what purpose? Who is this master LadyDevimon and Duskmon serve? And if they answer to him, how strong is he? An Ultimate, a Mega? Any guesses as to who it is? I'll be revealing them next time. Maybe.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _DOT _**in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/LadyDevimon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Duskmon**


	28. Chapter 28: Picking Up the Pieces

**(A/N: Last time, we had LadyDevimon and Duskmon attack the village. I thought they'd make a great evil team. LadyDevimon is really vicious, and Duskmon's cold ruthlessness goes well with her brutal nature; also, he's one of my favorites. Warning, this chapter gets pretty… um, eerie towards the end. I did warn you that this arc would be darker than the last two.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Chapter 28: Picking Up the Pieces**

Spending weeks in the wilderness, and then several days at sea on a boat and then on Whamon's back made it difficult to find a comfortable sleeping position. The softness of a bed was one of things Takato missed the most from the Real World. Thus, he had no desire to get up, even after finally having regained consciousness.

It didn't fully register quite yet that he was in a bed instead of lying on the softest bit of ground he could find, but the aches and pains of the previous day's battle quickly chased away the last remnants of sleep, and he forced his eyes open.

"What happened there?" he muttered, seeing a large hole in the ceiling that showed the open sky.

"It was destroyed in the attack yesterday."

"Attack?" he muttered. "Ah! The attack!" He sat up, looking around desperately. "Guys, where are you?"

"Relax," the same speaker from before told him, and a Digimon that resembled a child wearing a kendo uniform approached, "your friends are fine. A little worse for wear, but still up and about."

"Um, ooook. And you are?"

"Me? I'm Kotemon. I've been watching over you guys since your battle. You're the last one. Your humanmon friends are already outside waiting for you."

Takato blinked. "Oh, thanks." He got out of the bed, already missing its comfort. "By the way, its not humanmon, its just human. And my name is Takato."

"Yes, Takatomon."

"No! I'm not a mon. It's just…" He sighed. "Ah, never mind. Where outside?"

"I'll show you."

He followed the reptile Digimon out of what was left of the partly destroyed house. The damage was much worse on the outside, and the residential Digimon worked with sullen expressions as they rebuilt. Takato's heart went out to the poor creatures. Was this what they went through every month when the snatchers attacked?

"Welcome back." He turned to find Kari carrying what appeared to be a tarp made of reeds. She gave him a sad smile and carried it over to the house he had just come out of. On the roof, there was a Digimon that looked like a purple mushroom, who took the tarp from her and placed it over the hole.

Takato walked over to her, a frown on his face. "I can't believe they did this."

Kari sighed sadly. "I know. It's so cruel. And we couldn't do a thing to stop them."

He looked around. "Where are the others?"

She nodded. "Over there."

He followed her through the destroyed village. Everyone was either working on repairs or treating the injured. It was truly a sad sight. Even the teens were helping to rebuild, with the exception of Tai, who was wrapping a bandage around the injured arm of a Digimon that resembled a pencil called Ekakimon.

"I wish Joe was here," he said with a sigh. "He wants to be a doctor. He'd do a better job at this than me." He tied off the end. "There, that should do it."

Davis was currently scowling as he hammered a nail into a wall. "What we should be doing is going after those snatcher creeps." A moment later, he cried out as he hammered his thumb.

Takuya sighed. "I agree with you, but right now isn't the time for it."

Sucking on his thumb, he threw down the hammer. "Then when is the time? When they come back? I say as soon as Takato wakes up, we stage a rescue mission."

"I'm already here," Takato replied. "And a rescue mission for who?"

"Cutemon," TK replied, climbing down from a house, having finished the repairs. "The snatchers took her away."

Gatomon was on her feet again as well. "And she's the one that's been giving us healing aid whenever the snatchers have attacked before."

Kari frowned as she looked at the cat Digimon. "With people like the snatchers around, I see why you were so hostile to us before." She hesitated for a moment. "I'm guessing LadyDevimon was your friend."

Gatomon glared at her. "That witch is _not_ my friend!" She turned to Kazemon, pointing her claw at the fairy Digimon accusingly. "You had no right to tell them anything."

Kazemon sighed as the cat Digimon stormed off. "I'm sorry, it's a sensitive subject for her."

Hesitantly, Takato approached the fairy Digimon. "Um, excuse me, but why are the snatchers doing this? Why are they kidnapping Digimon and destroying everything?"

The teens stopped working and had gathered around to listen. Kazemon looked at each of them before looking up at the sky. "We were once a place that helped Digimon that came from File Island until they set out to make a life for themselves. But a few years ago, an evil Digimon came and made his home a few miles from here." She looked at them. "This Digimon was called Myotismon."

By the way she said the name, it was as if it was supposed to mean something, but in their ignorance, it was lost on the teens. Shoutmon, however, knew the significance of the name. "That's bad."

Davis glanced at him. "How come?"

"Myotismon is an incredibly evil vampire Digimon. If you thought Devimon was bad, just wait until you meet this guy. And he's an Ultimate to boot."

Takato blinked. "A vampire? You mean he sucks blood and stuff?"

The fairy Digimon looked like she was going to be sick. "Yes, and that's why the snatchers kidnap our friends. He feeds on them, engorging himself on their blood. They only last about a month before dying from constant anemia. Then the snatchers come and take someone else. Gatomon's friend was one of the first ones taken. He didn't feed on her though, at least not to death, but instead twisted her and turned her to the dark side until she Digivolved into LadyDevimon."

Kari's hands were covering her mouth in horror. "And now he's going to use Cutemon as his next food source?"

Kazemon shook her head. "I don't think so. Based on what LadyDevimon said, he'll use her for something else. My guess is that he'll force her to use her healing powers to rejuvenate those he feeds on so they'll survive longer."

"Ok, that's seriously messed up," Davis muttered. "This guy needs to be taken out. Someone get the garlic, crosses, and holy water. I'll start sharpening some stakes."

Behind her headgear, Kazemon raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"In our world," said Tai, "vampires are fictional, but they're generally weak against garlic, silver, holy artifacts, sunlight, and sometimes running water."

Kazemon still looked confused. "I don't know about those other things, but sunlight does drain his strength, and he's also weak against angel and holy beast type Digimon."

TK gave Kari a knowing look. "Hey, that's us. We should be able to defeat this Myotismon."

Davis cut his eyes at him. "Showoff."

But Kazemon shook her head. "It won't be enough. You may be his weaknesses, but he's still an Ultimate. You won't be able to beat him."

Tai crossed his arms. "Well, that figures. But maybe with all of us working together, we can win."

Shoutmon jumped up and bopped him over the head. "Don't be an idiot. This isn't like your world where you can win if you try hard enough. These are forces you can't hope to stand against on your own."

His words seemed to cause reality to come crashing down on the teens. Gloomy expressions crossed their faces as the hopelessness of the situation settled over them.

Davis looked at each of them. He scowled, placing his hands on his hips. "Hey, come on now. What kind of attitude is that? So what if these guys are stronger than us? Don't forget how fast Tai reached the Ultimate level compared to other Digimon. All we have to do is get stronger too."

The others stared at him. It was amazing how that simply made sense to him, no matter how illogical it sounded. He may have been an idiot, but he could certainly motivate a person.

A smile broke out on Tai's face. "Well, you can't argue with that."

TK was next to join in. "Yeah, as long as we stick together, there's nothing we can't do."

Takato looked at the three of them. "Is this really happening right now?"

Kari chuckled. "Looks like it. Count me in."

"And me too," Takuya added.

Takato continued to stare at them, then sighed. "Well, I guess it's as good of a plan as any.

Kazemon stared at the teens before smiling in amazement. "So, this is the power humans possess. They don't let their limitations hold them back."

Shoutmon gave a bark of laughter and shook his head. "Yeah, you gotta love 'em."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"I must say," the speaker told the two kneeling Digimon, "you've done a very good job with today's raid."

Before him, Duskmon and LadyDevimon continued to bow to the evil Digimon. "It was our pleasure," the latter replied.

"We live to serve," Duskmon added.

Unfeeling blue eyes peered through a mask down at Cutemon, who now had a chain around her neck that he held. They shined with amusement as the fairy Digimon cowered away from him as far as the chain would allow. "Do not fear, my pet. I will not be sampling your blood. Rather, your healing power will be used to keep my food source from expiring."

Cutemon shook her head. "No, I won't heal my friends just so you can keep sinking your dirty fangs into them. Better they die and are reborn away from you than to remain your prisoners."

Laughter echoed throughout the room. "How amusing. For such a little thing, you've got a lot of spirit." He tugged on the chain. "I'll have to break it."

Duskmon dared to speak. "My Lord Myotismon, there is something you should know. When we went to the village, there were strange creatures from another world there called humans."

This caught the vampire Digimon's interest, and he turned away from Cutemon. "You don't say."

"Yes, my lord," LadyDevimon confirmed. "Duskmon wanted to kill them, but I thought it best to inform you first in case you found use for them."

A smile grazed Myotismon's lips, exposing his vampire fangs. "You made the right decision. Humans you say. How very interesting. I do wonder what they would taste like. I should like to sample their blood. Tell me, is there a female amongst them?"

LadyDevimon's smirk became a frown of disappointment and she didn't answer, but Duskmon spoke in her place. "There is, my lord, but only one."

The vampire Digimon chuckled. "How delightful. In that case, I want you to bring these humans to me, especially the female. If you must kill them, feel free, but bring the female to me. I want her intact. I would like to sample her," he licked his lips, a hungry look appearing in his eyes, "in more ways than one."

Duskmon rose to his feet. "Yes, my lord."

As the demon Digimon left the room, LadyDevimon's claws dug into the stone floor, leaving grooves. Though Myotismon fed on both male and female Digimon, he preferred the blood of females. He claimed it tasted sweeter and was more alluring and intoxicating. And there was one Digimon he wanted desperately for a long time now. The very thought of her made LadyDevimon seethe with rage.

Myotismon watched her, amused as she struggled to appear humbled. "Jealousy does not become you, my dear. Does the thought of me touching another anger you?"

He was baiting her, she knew it, but did her best to maintain her composure. "It is not my place to say what you may or may not do."

"No, it is not." He chuckled and held his hand out to her. "Come to me, my pet." She did as he commanded, taking his hand and allowing him to pull her into his lap. "You know you are my favorite."

"Yes, my lord."

"Yet you hate the idea of me being with anyone else." He moved his mouth close to her neck, pressing a kiss there before moving his lips to her ear. "Is that why you still haven't brought me Kazemon?"

LadyDevimon's scowl returned, and her claws dug into her palm. Myotismon had demanded she bring him the fairy Digimon for quite some time now, but she had always found an excuse not to, always bring someone else instead. "She has been… difficult to capture, my lord."

He chuckled at that and ran his tongue over her pulse point on her neck, making her moan. "Don't lie to me, my pet. You know I can see right through you." He took her chin, turning her to face him. "Am I not the lord of this castle?"

"You are."

"Then is it not my right to do as I see fit with my subjects?"

She hesitated a moment before answering, her voice hard. "It is."

"Then why do you deny me what I desire? Do you so hate the idea of Kazemon being my bedmate? Perhaps you could join us once she's sufficiently broken."

"She is not worthy of you," the fallen angel Digimon hissed.

He chuckled again. "Not to worry, my pet. My attention may wander from time to time, but I will always come back to you in the end."

"My lord…" she cooed, melting against him.

"After all," he continued, baring his fangs as he brought his mouth back down to her neck, "nothing tastes better than something you made yourself."

He sank his fangs into her neck, and LadyDevimon screamed in ecstasy.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Duskmon made his way down to the dungeon. No doubt LadyDevimon would be busy for a while, so he would need any help in going after those children, but it would be more beneficial to have a partner with him.

Which is why he was currently down here. This particular cell wasn't meant to hold a prisoner, but an ally, one that happened to be very dangerous. Keeping them confined was simply more convenient than dealing with their aggressive nature.

Approaching the cell, he reached out and pulled down the lever on the wall. The bars on the door began to rise, leading into a pitch-black room. From out of the darkness, a low growl emitted, followed by heavy breathing. A pair of glowing red eyes soon became visible as the beast approached.

"We have work to do," Duskmon told it.

 **(A/N: The villain is revealed. Yes, this is the Myotismon Arc. I absolutely had to have him as a villain. Out of every evil Digimon that has appeared over the Seasons and in other media, I always found him to be the most twisted an evil, even more so than the Dark Masters or the Demon Lords. His relationship with LadyDevimon is, what I think, what could have become of Gatomon eventually had she never met Kari and remained Myotismon's servant. So, it'll be Myotismon, LadyDevimon, and Duskmon who are the main villains of this arc. But who is this Digimon that's in Myotismon's dungeon. It must be someone really bad if Myotismon needs to keep his own ally locked up. Any guesses as to who it is? You'll find out next time. Maybe.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) below with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Kotemon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/** **Ekakimon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Myotismon**


	29. Chapter 29: Human Hunting

**(A/N: To** ** _mistysong451_ , you can watch _Digimon Data Squad_ almost anywhere. Just do a _Google_ search of "watch Digimon Season 5" or "** **watch Digimon Data Squad"** **. Two real good websites are _AnimeFreak_ and _KissAnime_** **.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Chapter 29: Human Hunting**

Tai stared at the scribble that was meant to be the map Kazemon had drawn for them. He couldn't make heads or tails of it. Clearly, mapmaking was not the fairy Digimon's forte.

Looking over his shoulder, Davis stared at the drawing. "Is this supposed to be Meralismon's castle?" he asked, pointing to a triangle with an X in the middle and what he thought was a bat on the top.

"It's Myotismon," Kazemon corrected. "And of course it is. It's plain as day."

"Um, I beg to differ."

"Gimme that," Shoutmon grumbled, snatching the map from him. "You just don't know the layout of the land." He studied the map for a few moments. "What are these stick figures here?"

"Oh, that's us," Kazemon told him. "Then you just follow the trail here."

The dragon Digimon stared. "That's not a trail, that's a squiggly line." He scanned the paper, his eyes landing on a second X, this one inside a rectangle. "So what's this?"

"That's Myotismon's prison. He doesn't keep his prisoners in his castle. He only keeps one with him as a time. He feeds from them until they die or until he gets tired of them and wants a different… um, flavor. Then he swaps them out for someone else in his prison."

Kari's hand was covering her mouth. "That's horrible! The poor things."

Gatomon crossed her arms. "It'll be even worse for them now that he has Cutemon. With her healing powers, he can force her to heal his victims so he doesn't need to worry about them growing weaker and dying on him."

"That's… really messed up," Davis muttered. "Honestly, I don't understand how so many people find the idea of blood sucking vampires to be appealing, let alone erotic, yet they're in so many books and movies about it."

"Hey, I'm just surprised you knew the meaning of the word erotic," said Takuya as he leaned over to take a look at the map. "Why would Myotismon keep his prison so far from his castle? Wouldn't that make getting to his meals difficult?"

"Actually, it's pretty smart," TK replied thoughtfully. "If his prisoners managed to escape, they'd all go after him for revenge. This way he keeps distance between him and them in case they ever got out and caused trouble."

Grumbling, Davis sat down. "Great. Then where would Cutemon be, the castle, or the prison?"

Tai thought about it. "Most likely the castle. If that's where Myotismon actually feeds on his victims, so he'll need Cutemon handy in case the Digimon he's feeding on starts dying on him."

"Ok, can we please stop talking about eating people," Takato begged.

"But it doesn't matter where Cutemon is," the older boy continued, ignoring him. "We're going to be going to both the castle and the prison. We're not leaving any Digimon behind, and we're not letting Myotismon get away with this."

Shoutmon burst out laughing. "Wow, you guys have some major hero complexes."

The others exchanged looks as the dragon Digimon continued to laugh. Takuya placed his hands on his hips and glared at him. "What's so funny about this?"

Wiping his eyes, Shoutmon gave them a serious look. "Listen, you may be having delusions of grandeur, but we're living in the real world." He looked around. "Um, figuratively speaking. You can't save everyone. If you try, you're going to get yourselves killed, and then you won't be able to save anyone."

Tai shook his head. "We're not having delusions of grandeur. All we want to do is save as many people as possible."

Gatomon sighed. "Guys, it's great that you want to help, but it's not going to end well for you, otherwise we would have gone after them ourselves. You'll just be walking to your doom."

TK made a fist. "It wouldn't matter. I couldn't live with myself anyway if I didn't at least try while knowing I had the power to do something."

Kari nodded. "He's right. We can't possibly save Cutemon and abandon the others."

Shoutmon snapped his fingers. "Hello! You're talking about fighting Myotismon. He's a very powerful, highly intelligent Ultimate. You think that just because we've got the power of MetalGreymon that we can beat him? It's going to take more than that. Now, if you were all Ultimates, that'd be a different story, but with only MetalGreymon and five Champions, we don't stand a chance. Especially since he has Duskmon and LadyDevimon on his side."

Kazemon sighed sadly. "I hate to admit it, but he's right. And Myotismon's got more than those two cronies backing him up. If you try and take him down, you're going to get yourselves killed. This is meant to be a rescue mission, not a war march."

Davis shook his head. "Not good enough. It's like TQ said, we wouldn't be able to live with ourselves. And who knows, maybe we can pull it off." He grabbed the air. "In fact, I'm sure we can. We kicked Devimon and Dragomon's butts. We can beat some lousy vampire wannabe."

Gatomon scoffed. "He's not a 'wannabe' anything. And you couldn't even beat his minions. How do you expect to beat him?"

"Well," Kari replied, "we are getting stronger abnormally fast by Digimon standards. Maybe we'll be strong enough to challenge Myotismon by the time we reach him."

Davis beamed. "Yeah, there you go. If we're not up to the challenge, then we just need to get stronger."

The three stared at them. A smile of admiration grazed Kazemon's face as Gatomon sighed. "There's no talking to you humans," she said, but she too was smiling.

Shoutmon chuckled. "Yeah, you gotta love them." He shook his head as he folded up the map. "Well, I guess there are worst ways to die."

"Aww, don't be like that," Davis told him. "I'll go get the gear, and we can head out."

He took off for the hut where the food and supplies the villagers had gathered for them was piled up. He was about to enter when he was suddenly thrown back as the entire hut blew apart

Landing hard, Davis looked up at the sky with stars in his eyes. "What'd I do?"

From within the rising smoke, a large figure slowly emerged, and it sounded an awful lot like Duskmon. "For starters, you came to a world you do not belong in, and now you must pay the price for your admittance."

The others hurried over as Davis sat up, rubbing his head. Shoutmon stared at the smoking wreckage in horror. "Aww, our supplied."

"I assume," Duskmon replied, "you will have no need for it."

He emerged from the smoke, but he wasn't alone. He rode on the back of a giant ghostly skeleton Digimon that resembled an undead saber tooth tiger with wings. Whatever type of Digimon it was, it didn't look friendly.

Tai's fists clenched. "Great, this guy again."

"And he brought a friend," Kari added.

Duskmon motioned to the beast he rode. "Meet SkullBaluchimon, a powerful Ultimate level Digimon with a real killer instinct."

Gatomon glared. "The snatchers never attack twice like this, and they never bring out SkullBaluchimon. What do you want?"

Not one to mince words, Duskmon pointed at Kari. "I've come for her."

She blinked. "Me?"

"The master is most curious about having humans in the Digital World. He especially wants to know how their blood will taste, and he has a fondness for female blood. Now hand her over, or I will kill you all and take her by force."

"Like hell!" Tai snarled, pulling out his Digivice. _"Execute! Spirit Evolution…"_

Nothing happened. He blinked in surprise, looking at the screen. It was blank. That hadn't happened since their encounter with Impmon. This was _not_ a good time for this.

Duskmon leaned forward. "You were saying?"

Tai's eyes narrowed and he tried again. _"Execute! Spirit Evolution…"_ Still nothing. The device didn't even activate. He began pressing the button desperately, but to no avail. "Come on, don't do this to me. Not now."

"Um, Tai," said Takato, "don't you think now would be a good time to bring out MetalGreymon?"

Tai growled, not even looking at him. "I'm trying, but it's not working!"

Davis pulled out his Digivice. "Then allow me. _Execute! Spirit Evo…_ Why isn't it working?"

"Mine's not working either," said TK.

"Neither is mine," Kari added.

Takuya repeatedly pressed the button, but was only greeted by a blank screen. "Damn, they must be out of power."

Takato didn't even bother to check his. "We must have used all our energy in the last battle."

Duskmon's blades slid out of the skulls he had for hands. "Well, that makes things simpler. SkullBaluchimon, go!"

The undead Digimon roared and pounced at them. The teens fled as the beast landed right where they had been standing. Duskmon leapt off his back, jumping towards the teens with his blades raised. Kazemon slammed into the demon Digimon, sending him crashing through the roof of one of the houses. She landed in front of the teens protectively, and was quickly joined by Gatomon.

From out of the house, Duskmon calmly walked through the front door. "Stay out of this, Kazemon. The master still wants you. He demands that you remain unharmed until then."

"Ha!" the fairy Digimon laughed. "As if I'd ever let that leech taste my blood… or anyone for that matter."

Gatomon glanced at the teens. "Get out of here, you guys. We'll hold him off."

"I don't think so," Duskmon replied. "SkullBaluchimon, don't let them escape."

The skeletal beast turned to the teens and roared. They slowly backed away as the undead Digimon approached.

"Uh, guys, I think it's about time we RUN!" Takato shouted.

Taking his advice, they turned to flee. SkullBaluchimon roared and slammed a boney claw on the ground. _"Grave Bone!"_ Around the teens, the ground seemed to cave in and rise up around them, threatening to bury them alive.

" _Fiery Fastball!"_ Shoutmon cried, his attack blasting the ground apart, providing an opening in the rising ground for the teens to escape through.

SkullBaluchimon snarled and made to follow them, but Shoutmon leapt at him and hit him over the head with his _Rock and Roller_ attack. The undead Digimon blinked and shook his head as Shoutmon clung to his skull.

Duskmon was currently engaged in battle with Kazemon and Gatomon, yet with his numerous eyes, he still saw the teens making their escape. "SkullBaluchimon," he cried as he blocked Kazemon's kick while simultaneously deflecting Gatomon's _Lightning Paw_ , "what are you waiting for? Go after them."

The undead Digimon stopped trying to shake off Shoutmon and instead stomped after the teens. The dragon Digimon clung to him, whacking him with his mic whenever he could. SkullBaluchimon paid him no mind as he stalked after the humans.

They headed for the forest, but even with Shoutmon providing a distraction, the undead Digimon was quickly closing in. This was pure déjà vu off the back from when they first came to the Digital World and were always on the run from bigger and stronger Digimon.

"Into the trees!" Tai shouted, and the teens ran off the path.

Well, all but one. While the others had used the trees for cover, Davis had climbed up one, misinterpretation what Tai meant. SkullBaluchimon rose to his hind legs, snapping at the boy's heels, and very nearly chomping off his feet.

"Davis, what are you doing up there?" Tai demanded.

"When you said 'into the trees', I thought you meant literally."

Shoutmon was currently whacking the undead Digimon's face with his mic as he clung to SkullBaluchimon's head. "That's pointless. Didn't you notice he had wings?"

SkullBaluchimon then demonstrated his wings' abilities by taking to the air. He continued to ignore Shoutmon's blows as he slammed into the tree Davis was in, knocking it and several others over. The teen fell out of the tree and was covered by leaves and branches.

SkullBaluchimon snarled as he began clawing at the fallen trees to get to the human underneath. The others rushed over to pull their friend out while still using the remaining trees for cover. SkullBaluchimon lunged at them, but was cut off by all the vegetation, too big to fit between the trees.

Snarling angrily, he began knocking the trees over, determine to get to his prey. The teens fled deeper into the woods as SkullBaluchimon came crashing through behind them.

They finally burst out of the trees, and came to a stop. Before them was a waterfall, going down what had to have been at least a 200 to 300 foot drop into a raging river that went on for miles. They were trapped.

"You've got to be kidding!" Takato exclaimed. "This kind of thing only happens in the movies. No way does this happen in real life."

"I beg to differ, seeing as it's happening now," Takuya argued back.

A snarl behind them caused the teens to look back, and they saw SkullBaluchimon closing in. They turned back to the waterfall before all attention shifted to the leader for direction.

Tai silently swore. Either they faced SkullBaluchimon, or they took a leap of faith. Neither optioned presented good odds. But without the ability to Spirit Evolve, there was no chance against the undead Digimon.

"I hope you all got an A in swim class," he told them. A moment later, he jumped.

The others stared as Tai splashed down into the water. They shared looks of uncertainty as they wondered if this really was the best course of action. A determine look crossed Takuya's face before he jumped too.

"Well," said Davis, "I always wanted to try this. Cannonball!"

He too leapt off the edge. SkullBaluchimon was getting close now, sending leaves and splinters if wood flying as he tore his way through the trees. TK and Kari glanced at each other before joining hands and leaping off as well.

Only Takato remained. He took one last look at the approaching undead Digimon before placing his goggles over his eyes, pinching his nose, and jumping.

Trees crashed to the ground as SkullBaluchimon finally made it out. Shoutmon gave him one last whack before jumping off his head. Without hesitation, he made a run for the edge as the undead Digimon swiped at him, jumping off and dropping into the icy water below.

 **(A/N: Not the best start to a rescue mission. Now they not only have LadyDevimon and Duskmon to beat before they get to Myotismon, but this SkullBaluchimon is now hunting them. And in case you haven't figured it out, yes, SkullBaluchimon was the one Myotismon was keeping in his dungeon, and with good cause too; this guy is nasty. We'll be right back after a brief swim. See you next time.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _DOT _**in the link(s) below with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/SkullBaluchimon**


	30. Chapter 30: Sing-A-Mon

**(A/N: Hey, dd you hear, there's a new Season coming out in addition to _Digimon Tri_ , it's called ****_Digimon Universe: Appli Monsters_. Digimon in this Season are based off smartphone apps, giving them the nickname Appmon, and are going to be able to link up wth each other or something** **. It sounds kind of lame, but I'm willing to give it a shot. Anyway, this chapter is less serious and more for fun. Yes, it's kind of a filler, but there's going to be some of those. Also, I've decided to go back and put links to the _DigimonWiki_ so readers can see/read about the different Digimon that appear if they want or don't know about them. I went back and added links to the previous chapters too.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Chapter 30: Sing-A-Mon**

Something pushed against Tai's stomach. He grunted, wanting to remain in the bliss of unconsciousness, but another forceful push woke him further.

He woke with a jolt, spitting out a great deal of water, and began coughing. He was wet and cold, and his whole body ached. Why did his body ache? And why was he all wet? He hadn't wet the bed since…

Wait, he wasn't in bed. He was on a rocky shore by the river. The same river that the waterfall that he and his friends had jumped off of poured into. They'd made it!

Or at least he had. Where were his friends? He turned over to look for them and was greeted by a big face that smiled at him. "Hello."

Tai cried out, and so did the creature. He didn't know why, the thing was several times taller than he was, towering over him. Whatever kind of Digimon it was, it resembled a giant, red, overweight gecko with large golden horns growing out of his neck. Not horns like the kind one would find on a goat or a rhino, but horns in the musical instrument sense.

Placing a webbed hand over his heart, the giant Digimon breathed a sigh of relief. "Whoa, you scared me."

" _I_ scared _you?_ " Tai exclaimed. "How do you think I feel?"

The Digimon scratched its head. "Why would you be scared of me? I wouldn't have saved you if I wanted to harm you."

Tai blinked. "Wait, you saved me?"

The Digimon placed its hands on its hips and puffed out its chest. "Yup. That's me, ShogunGekomon, always the helpful Digimon."

Tai stared, unsure of what to make of this strange Digimon. "ShogunGekomon, right." Then he remembered. "Hey, have you seen my friends? Um, other creatures that look like me?"

The Digimon, ShogunGekomon, smiled. "Oh, sure. I'm building up quite the collection. Look."

He pointed further down the riverbank. Lying unconscious, or worse, were TK, Kari, and Takato. Tai felt his blood run cold as he feared for their lives, especially his sister.

"Kar-" he cried, trying to rise, but immediately fell back down, his body aching.

"Don't worry," ShogunGekomon told him, "I made sure to push the water out of their bodies too. They're just resting."

But Tai needed to see for himself. Ignoring the aches and pains in his body, he managed to make his way over to his friends and breathed a sigh of relief when he found they had pulses.

ShogunGekomon stomped over to him. "You see, they're just fine."

Tai gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks a lot. But a few of my friends are still missing. A Shoutmon and two more humans."

The amphibian Digimon tapped his chin. "I didn't see a Shoutmon, but another human floated by before I could get to them. My friend went to try and catch them down the river. I don't know about the second one though."

Tai's fists clenched. So Shoutmon, Davis, and Takuya were lost somewhere. He hoped they were all right. If not, it would be his fault; he had been the one that had told them to jump. True, they hadn't really had a choice, but it had still been his decision.

He forced himself to stand. "I've got to go find them. I've got to…"

He started to fall, and ShogunGekomon quickly caught him. "Hey, now. You can't go anywhere until you've recovered your strength. Don't worry, Etemon will find them."

Tai had no idea who Etemon was, but he guessed it was the friend the amphibian Digimon mentioned. He still insisted on going though, at which point ShogunGekomon had picked him up and began rocking him while singing a Digimon version of _'Hush Little Baby'_.

" _Hush, little Baby, listen to me sing. Soon you'll Digivolve into an In-Training. Use your special attack_ Bubble Blow _, until you achieve that Digivolution glow. After you become a Rookie, you'll be on your way to gaining victory."_

His singing was interrupted by coughing that indicated that Kari was coming to. This changed Tai's mind about leaving as he climbed out of ShogunGekomon's hand to tend to her, deciding to put his faith in the gentle giant Digimon that had saved him and his friends.

One by one, the others came to. Once they understood the situation, they too wanted to go find their friends, but ShogunGekomon had put his foot down, literally, to stop them from going.

"You nearly drowned," he told them as he set to work building a fire for them. "Just relax for now. I'm sure Etemon will find your friends."

It was with great reluctance that the four teens sat around the fire, attempting to dry off and keep war. ShogunGekomon hummed the entire time, and even attempted to get them to sing campfire songs with him.

"No offense," Tai grumbled, "but we're not really in the mood to sing."

"Aww, but singing soothes the soul," came an Elvis Presely impersonation.

ShogunGekomon turned to the speaker and beamed. "Etemon!"

The Digimon in question resembled an orange ape wearing sunglasses. And draped over each shoulder was one of the missing teens. Shoutmon was there as well, walking behind the ape Digimon, looking exhausted.

"Look what I got," he said, dropping the two unconscious boys beside the fire. "Two for the price of one." He motioned to Shoutmon with his thumb. "This one insisted on coming."

The others rushed to Davis and Takuya's sides. Both were out cold, the former snoring loudly. Shoutmon collapsed beside them and held his hands up to the fire. "Next time, lets skip the cliff-diving."

"I'm glad you're ok," said Kari. "What happened?"

Etemon sat down by the fire. "I'd like to know that myself. Care to fill us in?"

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

By the time Davis and Takuya regained consciousness, their friends had already filled the two Digimon in on everything since they first came to the Digital World. They now all sat by the fire, sharing a meal of roasted fruit as they contemplated their next move.

"I tell ya," said Etemon as he blew on his baked apple on a stick, "you humans are crazy to challenge Myotismon."

"I'll say," ShogunGekomon agreed. "That guy is bad news. And he's got no love for music."

"I know, it's weird, baby."

Shoutmon scoffed. "You guys are weird."

TK laughed nervously at the dragon Digimon's remark and glanced at the other two. "Hey, would either of you happen to know how to get to Myotismon's dungeon? We kind of lost our map in the river."

Both Etemon and ShogunGekomon froze. They exchanged nervous looks before the former sighed. "Yeah, son, I know how to get there, but I ain't goin'. It's too dangerous. I happen to like my blood being in my body, thank you, thank you very much."

Davis' eye twitched. "Can you please stop with the Elvis impression?"

Etemon gave him a confused look. "I don't know any Elvis, and this is how I always talk. You don't like it, well, that's just too bad, baby."

Kari picked up where TK left off. "Then could you draw us a new map?"

"Sorry, baby, my drawing's atrocious."

"Can't be any worse than Kazemon's," Shoutmon murmured.

"Besides, as noble as your cause is, it's a fool's errand." He whipped out a microphone, different from Shoutmon's, and held it to the sky. "The only worthwhile cause is a musical one, baby!"

"Here, here!" ShogunGekomon declared.

The DigiDestined sighed. It had quickly become plain that the two were obsessed with music. Shoutmon had confirmed that all of their species were.

"Etemon, please," Takato begged. "We're trying to do some real good."

"Violence won't solve anything," the ape Digimon told him. "It'll only bring forth more violence."

"But doing nothing won't solve anything either," Davis argued back. "It's not a sin to fight for a righteous cause and to defend those you love. If we don't do anything, these evil Digimon will continue to torment people. Innocent Digimon are suffering because of Myotismon. We can't just sit around and hope the problem will go away."

ShogunGekomon shook his finger at him. "Hey, now, using music and cheer is a way of spreading good, positive energy to purify one's heart."

"Here, here!" Etemon agreed. Grinning, he spun his mic around and pointed it at them. "I'll tell you what, if you humans want to do some real good, lets form a music group."

His statement was met with silence. The teens stared at him in disbelief, not sure if he was serious or not. Davis gave a forced laugh. "Good one. You had me going there for a second."

"I'm serious, man. You already got a good name for your group. Just think, the DigiDestined Data Squad, live and in concert, spreading peace and love all across the globe."

ShogunGekomon tapped his chin. "That sounds pretty good. The only human-Digimon musical group in the Digital World. That'd certainly attract attention. Digimon will come from miles around to hear us perform. Our music will open their hearts and dispel their wicked ways."

Takuya sweat-dropped. "Um, I don't think that'll work. If it were that simple, there wouldn't be so much evil in the world."

Tai nodded sadly. "Unfortunately, there are some people, human and Digimon alike, that can't be reasoned or bargained with. They can't and won't change their ways, and the only way to stop them is to stand against them. Some hearts just can't be moved."

"Not that a music group's not a good idea," Takato added quickly. "And besides, we don't know anything about being in a band."

"Well, we can teach ya," Etemon suggested. "You've already got a Shoutmon in your group, and they're naturally musically talented."

"Ha!" the dragon Digimon laughed. "I'm not just a Shoutmon. I'm _thee_ Shoutmon. Me being in a band is ridiculous. I'm the Digimon King."

"The Digimon King of Swing," Etemon replied with a grin. "Come on, it'll be great, baby."

Shoutmon stood up. "Now look, I understand what you guys are getting at. I really do. It's a great idea, and in a perfect world, maybe it would work. But not here, not now. These are dark times, and there are some really bad Digimon out there." He gave them meaningful looks. "You know who I mean. And, unfortunately, the only thing they understand is how to use violence. They can't be bargained with, they can't be reasoned with, they can't be… music-ed with. They must be stopped at all costs, or they will destroy everything we love. Now, will you help us, or continue to live in a fantasy world?"

The two Ultimate Digimon stared at him. ShogunGekomon was frowning sadly while Etemon was tapping his chin thoughtfully. Finally, he snapped his fingers and smiled. "Alright then, we'll let the music decide."

Tai blinked. "Uh, what?"

He twirled around his mic. "You think your way is more affective, so we'll leave it up to the music. We'll have a battle."

Kari gasped. "You want to fight us? But why?"

Takuya held up his Digivice. "We can't fight anyway; we don't have any power yet."

Both Etemon and ShogunGekomon burst out laughing. "He doesn't mean a physical battle," the larger Digimon told them. "He means a musical duel."

"That's right," Etemon confirmed. "We'll have two rounds, and a tie-breaker if need be. We'll sing our hearts out to your cause of bring peace to the Digital World. The song must be original, and must come from here." He thumped his chest. "And since these songs will determine the next part of your journey, it must be about your adventure. If ShogunGekomon and I feel the power of your song is greater than ours, then I'll take you to Myotismon's dungeon myself. If not, then we all go on the road and form a band, bringing peace and prosperity to the Digital World through the power of music!"

This was apparently the greatest speech ShogunGekomon had ever heard, and he applauded enthusiastically. The others just stared, completely bewildered by this strange turn of events.

"He's not serious, is he?" Takato asked.

Shoutmon sighed. "I'm afraid he is. Music is everything to these two imbeciles. If we want their help, we're going to have to out-sing them." He produced his mic. "Alright, you're on."

ShogunGekomon clapped. "Wonderful! So, who's going first?"

The teens looked at each other. "Um…" Tai muttered. "Should we draw straws?"

A grin crept up the dragon Digimon's face. "Relax, I got this. Didn't you hear? We Shoutmon are naturally musically gifted. But I'll need you guys to sing backup."

Takato pointed at himself. "Us?"

"We're ready whenever you are," said Etemon.

"Give us a minute!" Shoutmon snapped. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot for a minute or two. "Ok, this is all I could come up with on such short notice." He turned to the teens. "I'll explain what and when you guys will need to sing."

A few minutes later, after he ran through the song a few times with them, he turned to his opponents. "Ok, we're ready."

ShogunGekomon stepped forward. "I'll be singing first. But before that, we need to sing the Digimon National Anthem."

The dragon Digimon's shoulders slumped. "Come on, really?"

"Damn straight!" the two music loving Digimon exclaimed.

Shoutmon sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine, if we must."

Tai cut his eyes at him. "Not very patriotic for the Digimon King."

"I'm actually surprised you guys have a National Anthem," said Takuya.

Sighing again, Shoutmon walked over to Etemon and ShogunGekomon. They leaned into his mic and broke into song. _"Di-Di-Di! Digimon! Digimon! Di-Di-Di! Digimon! Digimon! Di-Di-Di! Digimon, Digital Monsters! Digimon are the champions! Digimon, Digital Monsters! Digimon are the champions! Change into digital champions to save the Digital World! Digimon, Digital Monsters! Digimon are the champions! Digimon, Digital Monsters! Digimon are the champions! Digivolve into Champion! Digivolve into Ultimate! Digimon, Digital Monsters! Digimon are the champions! Digimon, Digital Monsters! Digimon are the champions! Digimon, Digital Monsters! Digimon!"_

The teens stared. They exchanged a few looks before Kari began clapping, and the others soon joined in. Redder in the face than usual, Shoutmon rejoined them while ShogunGekomon rubbed the back of his head bashfully. "Thank you, thank you. And now, for your entertainment, I'll be singing to you my newest musical number with Etemon singing backup."

Etemon snapped his fingers. "Hit it, baby!"

" _When you have to face a fight! Be strong and give it all your might!"_

" _Digimon, D-D-D-Data Squad!"_

" _Unleash your soul, and you will reach your goal! Prepare Digivolve!"_

" _Di-Di-Di-Digivolve!"_

" _Never surrender! Never be outdone! Coz the challenge ain't over! We've only just begun! Digimon!"_

Finished, he took a bow, as did Etemon. Shoutmon had his arms crossed and his eyes closed, but the teens were amazed.

"Did they really just make that up off the top of their heads?" Tai asked, completely flabbergasted.

"Wow," Kari awed, "they're good."

Shoutmon scoffed. "You think that was good? That was nothing. Just listen to this."

He pointed at the teens, their cue to start. _"Digimon!"_

" _Look to the past, as we head for the future to reclaim the Digital World. With faith in ourselves, and trust in each other, we live by the lessons we've learned. As we work towards one solution, through a Spirit Evolution."_

" _Ha-ya-moo-ah! Huh! Ha-ya-moo-ah! Digimon!"_

" _Forever united as one!"_

" _Digimon!"_

" _Together the battles are won!"_

" _Digimon!"_

" _Through us let your spirit evolve! If we're all for one world, there's a world for us all. If we're all for one world, there's a world for us all."_

" _Digimon!"_

ShogunGekomon acted as if he had been hit, falling backwards. Etemon ran over to him, looking shocked. "Oh, man! It's a knockout!" He looked back at the others. The teens were red with embarrassment, but he just grinned at them. "I guess you won round one. You're a lot better than I thought, but now it's my turn. Just listen to this." He nudged ShogunGekomon with his foot. "Hey, you're singing backup. I need you to start."

ShogunGekomon's eyes snapped open. "Oh, right." He jumped to his feet and began singing. _"Di-Di-Di! Di-Di-Di! Digimon! Digimon! Di-Di-Di!"_

" _The Digivolutions is up and running! Digi-See? Digi-Hear? Digi-Know it was coming? Our Digi-destiny starts today! Let me hear you say, Digimon!"_

" _Digimon, Digital Monsters! Digimon are the champions! Digimon, Digital Monsters! Digimon are the champions!"_

" _With Digi-will and Digivice in hand, there's Digi-dynamics towards the Digi-land! When the Digi-past and Digi-present collide! Time to Digi-Side! Digimon!"_

" _Digimon, Digital Monsters! Digimon are the champions! Digimon, Digital Monsters! Digimon are the champions! Digimon!"_

" _The Digi-dudes will Digi-rule with Digi-ability and Digi-tude! Save the world from a Digi-disaster! The threat from the net makes the Digital masters!"_

" _Digimon, Digital Monsters! Digimon are the champions! Digimon, Digital Monsters! Digimon are the champions! Digimon!"_

Thrusting his fist out, Etemon dropped his mic and backed away. Grinning, he looked up at ShogunGekomon and grinned. "Nice finish."

The amphibian Digimon gave him a thumbs up. "Nice song. That'll be tough to beat."

Davis put his hands on his hips. "That borrowed some of the lyrics from your National Anthem. Is that allowed?"

A smirk crept up Shoutmon's face. "Don't worry about it. I can beat that. You said it yourself, I'm the Digimon King of Swing."

Etemon pointed at him. "Ah, ah, ah, hold on a minute, baby. You already had your turn. You can sing backup, but one of your human friends must make up and sing lead in the next song."

The dragon Digimon's face fell. "Hey, that wasn't in the rules."

"It was assumed that that was to be the case," ShogunGekomon told him. "That's why I sang lead the first time and Etemon did the second."

"That's right, baby. You gotta prove your cause is just by showin' us the music in your souls! Ya can't just rely on Shoutmon."

The dragon Digimon stared, not sure what to do. Finally, he sighed and looked to the teens. "Well, you got anything?"

Grinning, Davis stepped forward. "I guess I'll have to take care of this."

"No!" Tai, Kari and TK shouted, all three clamping their hands over his mouth. They had heard Davis sing before, and it wasn't pretty.

"I think it should be someone a little less tone-deaf," Tai told him.

"U'm 'ot own-ef," his look alike mumbled behind their hands.

TK glanced at Kari. "You can sing, Kari."

She gave him a surprised look. "You want me to sing? I don't know. I'm not as good as them, and I can't make up a song off the top of my head."

Tai crossed his arms thoughtfully. "I wish Mimi was here. She'd win for sure." He glanced at TK. "Or your brother."

Etemon's arms were crossed as well, only in impatience as he tapped his foot. "We don't have all day. If you don't have a song, then just forfeit." He beamed. "Then we can begin our Digital World tour!"

Takuya sweat-dropped and gave his friends a pleading look. "Please, tell me someone has a song."

As the teens desperately tried to come up with something, one of them appeared thoughtful, not saying anything. Shoutmon took notice and gave him a curious look. "You ok, Takato?"

The boy nodded, still looking deep in thought. "I have an idea. There's one song I know that I'm sure will gain us the win. We just need to reword it a bit, but I think it will work. You guys will still need to sing backup."

Kari bit her lower lip. "Isn't that cheating? They said we have to make it up."

"Ah, they'll never know," Davis replied. "So what's the song?"

Takato explained what he had in mind, but was met with skepticism.

"I don't know," TK muttered. "Do you really think that will work?"

"If it doesn't, we'll go from a fighting force to a music group," Tai reminded him.

But Takato was optimistic. "Trust me, there's no song better. Shoutmon, your mic."

Sighing, the dragon Digimon handed it over. "Here, kid. Good luck."

Smiling, he took the mic, giving him a nod. "It'll work. I know it will. Just remember your lines. Everybody ready?" He received uncertain nods and turned to Etemon and ShogunGekomon. "Here we go. I hope you two are ready for this because… _I wanna be the very best. Like no one ever was. To tame them is my real test. To train them is my cause. I will travel across the land, searching far and wide. Each Digimon to understand the power that's inside!"_

" _Digimon! Gotta tame 'em all!"_

" _It's you and me. I know it's my destiny."_

" _Digimon!"_

" _Oh, you're my best friend in a world we must defend."_

" _Digimon! Gotta tame 'em all!"_

" _A heart so true. Our courage will pull us through. You teach me and I'll teach you. Digimon!"_

" _Every challenge along the way, with courage I will face. I will battle every day to claim my rightful place. Come with me, the time is right. There's no better team. Arm in arm we'll win the fight! It's always been our dream!"_

" _Digimon! Gotta tame 'em all!"_

" _It's you and me. I know it's my destiny."_

" _Digimon!"_

" _Oh, you're my best friend in a world we must defend."_

" _Digimon! Gotta tame 'em all!"_

" _A heart so true. Our courage will pull us through. You teach me and I'll teach you. Digimon!"_

" _Gotta tame 'em all. Gotta tame 'em all. Digimon!"_

It seemed that Takato was the type of person who couldn't resist dancing while he sang, and he ended up crouched down on one knee, holding the mic horizontal as he bent over to sing into it. The others stood behind him, their faces red with embarrassment, yet still impressed he had been able to incorporate a Digimon them into a Pokémon song, even making it sound like their own journey thus far.

But it was Etemon and ShogunGekomon they needed to impress, and so far, they were simply watching with stoic impressions. Takato began feeling nervous, and he stood up, rubbing the back of his head. "Um, how was that?"

From behind his sunglasses, a tear ran down Etemon's cheek. Up above, a much bigger one fell from ShogunGekomon's eye, splashing on top of the ape Digimon's head, both soaking him and opening the floodgates.

"That was beautiful!" he balled. "You've truly touched my heart! I humbly admit defeat." He took off his sunglasses and wiped his eyes. "And you're right, we need to tame all these wild, evil, out of control Digimon, and show them the right path to follow."

Kari clasped her hands together happily. "Then you'll help us rescue Cutemon and the others?"

"The music has spoken to me, little lady, and I gave you my word. I'll take you to Myotismon's dungeon." He looked up at ShogunGekomon. "No offense, pal, but I think this would be better as a stealth operation, and you're a little too big for this mission. They'll see you coming a mile away."

The amphibian Digimon chuckled. "Yeah, sorry I can't come along to help."

Shoutmon rolled his eyes. "You could always DeDigivolve."

The color drained from ShogunGekomon's face, and he shook his head and waved his hands. "I don't even want to go there as an Ultimate. No way am I going there as a Champion." He pulled himself together and cleared his throat. "Besides, you've got Etemon. Despite our sizes, he's stronger than me. He'll take care of you. I have the utmost confidence in him."

"Thank you," Etemon replied. "Thank you very much."

Davis' eye twitched at the Elvis impression. "I'm starting to think this is a mistake."

 **(A/N: I know, I know, it was bad, right? So bad it was good maybe…? Yes? No? This chapter was supposed to be a light-hearted filler.** **In case you haven't figured it out, the chapter title is a pun on "sing-a-long".** **I pretty much just wanted to have fun with the different theme songs. Anyway, it seems though that our heroes have gained a new ally. Will Etemon joining them provide an advantage? Guess we'll have to wait and see. We'll be returning to the real adventure next chapter. Hope to see you there.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the _DOT_ in the link(s) below with actual periods.**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/ShogunGekomon**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Etemon**


	31. Chapter 31: Layers

**(A/N: Ok, time to get more interactive with my readers! So. here it goes. I have a plan for this story that basically lays out the whole thing. I've got villains and friends the DigiDestined are going to meet along the way, but I thought, lets make it interesting. The main villains I have planned, like Devimon, Dragomon, Myotismon, and those that will follow, I still plan on using, but I thought, why not swap out any side villains I was planning for others my readers hope to see. And for that matter, why not some friends too. Basically, the story will be the same, just with different characters than who I originally planned. So, anyone have any requests? Which Digimon would you like to see appear in this story, and would you like them to be a villain or friend? Let me know, and if I like it, I might swap out whoever I originally had planned for them. No guarantees, but the poles are open.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Chapter 31: Layers**

He just wouldn't stop. Not with the Elvis impressions, and not with the singing. But while the Elvis voice was part of his natural accent and couldn't be helped, the singing was completely voluntary, and Davis didn't think he could take it anymore.

"Etemon," he begged, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice, "shouldn't we be keeping quiet? We don't want to alert any of Myotismon's men."

The ape Digimon stopped marching and fell silent. He seemed to consider this before turning to Davis and grinning. "You're absolutely right. From here on out, it'll be best to sing on the inside."

Takuya sighed. "Thank goodness for that." He too had grown tired after listening to hours of Etemon's singing. "How much further do we have to go anyway?"

Etemon scratched his head. "At this current pace, I'd say two or three days."

"Two or three days?!" Davis exclaimed, and dropped to the ground. "How come you Digimon can cover such long distances in only a coupe hours."

An arrogant smirk crept up Shoutmon's face as he sat down next to him for a rest. "'Cause we're faster and stronger than you, not to mention several of us can fly."

Tai sighed and sat down as well. "Fair points." He checked his Digivice. It was still blank. "And our Digivices still aren't recharged yet. Even if they were, we can't waste the energy traveling in our Digimon forms."

A horrible thought occurred to Kari. "You don't think our Digimon forms were destroyed in the battle, do you?"

"I doubt it," Shoutmon replied. "After you were beaten, it looked more like you DeDigivolved back to your human forms. Even though you're human, you're Digimon forms are still made of data. Had they been destroyed, their data would have scattered, plus, you'd most likely be dead. No, I think their energy was just depleted." He looked out at the hill-covered path before them. "I just hope they'll be recharged by the time we reach Myotismon's dungeon."

Takuya looked out in the distance, but in a different direction. He watched as a pixelated beam of red light coming down from the sky skidded across the ground. "Hey, Shoutmon, you mentioned that those red beams can be used to teleport things. Couldn't we somehow use them to get to Myotismon's dungeon and castle, or even Cherubimon's palace?"

The dragon Digimon gave him a strange look. "What are talking…? Oh, you mean the data streams? Nah, those aren't an option. There's no controlling where they transport you. It's completely random. You could end up on the other side of the world, or even a different layer."

Tai raised an eyebrow. "Er, layer?"

Shoutmon slapped his head. "I keep forgetting how ignorant you are. Yes, layers. The Digital World is made up of various layers. They're kind of like different worlds or universes, but not really since they're all part of the Digital dimension. It's hard to explain. Each one is almost like an alternate reality, or a different version of the planet."

"Oh, I think I get it," said TK. "The layers are like different levels in a video game. They're separate realms, but they're still all part of the same game."

Shoutmon had no idea what a video game was, but he went with it. "Yeah, sure, whatever. There are various ways to get from one layer to another, but some are harder to get to than others, and some are completely impossible to reach, but are still there. And since the data streams randomly drop you off somewhere, you could end up anywhere, even on the farthest layer from where you were before."

Kari looked around. "So which layer are we on?"

"The middle-most layer. It's where most of us live, and where the most happens. Other layers include the Dark Ocean, Digimon Heaven, Digimon Hell, the Dark Area, the Golden Land, the Land of Wishes, the Land of the Digimon Sovereigns, the dwelling place of the Digimon God, the-"

"Hold it," Tai interrupted. "Digimon Heaven, Digimon Hell? I thought Digimon started over as eggs when they died."

"Oh, they do," Etemon confirmed. "Don't see what that has to do with Digimon Heaven and Hell though. Digimon Hell is a horrible, violent, chaotic place that's home to numerous demon Digimon while Digimon Heaven is a beautiful, peaceful, orderly place that's home to numerous angel Digimon. The two layers are always at war with each other though, but since the only way to get to and from them is to use the data streams and hope you get lucky, there's not much fighting between them."

"Back up a sec," said Davis. "You said there's a Digimon God?"

"Of course," Shoutmon replied. "He's an immeasurably powerful being of ultimate goodness and infinite love that lives in his own layer, where he constantly processes all the data in the Digital World, and can only be communicated with in Digimon Heaven through his avatar in the Server Tree, which is a giant tree whose roots run through and connect to various layers."

TK remembered something similar to this when he had learned about Norse mythology in school. "Sounds a lot like Yggdrasil."

Shoutmon's head snapped in his direction. "How do you know the Digimon God?"

He blinked. "What? I don't. In our world, Yggdrasil is the name of the mythical World Tree whose roots connect the 12 realms together if I remember right."

The dragon Digimon and the ape Digimon exchanged curious looks. "Fascinating," the latter commented.

"What is?"

"Yggdrasil_7D6 is the name of one of the host computers that act as an avatar to the Digimon God. Back when the Digital World was first created, the Digimon God created these crystals called Homeostasis that were programmed with the Digimon God's will. One of them was placed into a body called King Drasil and was then inserted into a giant avatar body called Yggdrasil_7D6. It once dwelled in the Server Tree where it carried out the Digimon God's will."

Takuya found his choice of words interesting. "What do you mean _once_ dwelled?"

Etemon answered for him. "A long time ago, a powerful evil Digimon managed to take over the host computer. Considering Yggdrasil was as powerful as 9,000 Mega level Digimon, that's quite a feat."

"Did you say 9,000 Mega level Digimon?!" Takato exclaimed, unable to comprehend how anything could be so strong.

"Uh huh, and that ain't no exaggeration, baby."

Shoutmon snickered at the look on the boy's face. "It was an avatar that contained a portion of the Digimon God's power. Did you think it was gonna be weak?"

TK didn't like the sound of that. "And a Digimon managed to take it over?"

"Don't worry," the dragon Digimon assured him, "that host computer was destroyed long ago by a group of Digimon that were close to the Digimon God. Unfortunately, the Digimon that had taken it over had gotten away."

"Hey," Kari cried suddenly, "instead of Cherubimon, why don't we just go see the Digimon God. If anyone can get us home, he can."

But Shoutmon shook his head. "We can't. First of all, we'd have to get to Digimon Heaven first, and like I said, we can only do that by taking a data stream and hoping we get lucky, unless we get there by some other means. Second of all, after it had been taken over, the host computer began to malfunction, which was when those that had chased out the evil Digimon were forced to destroy it. After that, the Digimon God recalled the Homeostasis and fled to his own personal realm to give us Digimon free reign under the guidance if the Digimon closets to him, and there's no way to get to his realm. Only he can get to and from it."

Kari's shoulders sank. "Oh, well, I guess that won't work then."

"Hang on, what about the ones the Digimon God left in charge?" Takato asked.

Once more, Shoutmon shook his head. "That's not an option. They disappeared thousands of years ago. It's why the world is in such chaos right now and evil Digimon run amuck."

Tai sighed and looked at the data stream that was moving further and further away. "You said there's no way to get to the Digimon God's layer. What if we take one of those data streams? Could we get lucky and end up there."

Another shake of the head. "There are some layers that no data streams can reach. The realm of the Digimon God is one of them. Another is the Dark Area."

Kari glanced at him. "What's that?"

"Hmm? The Dark Area? It's the layer beneath the Dark Ocean. It's the place where the data of evil Digimon is deleted to."

TK looked confused. "Where their data is deleted to? But I thought when Digimon die their data is reconfigured into a Digi-Egg."

"It is, their _basic_ data anyway, but what do you think happens to all the data they've accumulated while they were alive?"

"Doesn't the Digimon that destroyed them absorb it?" Tai asked, having seen Shoutmon do this several times.

"Well, yes, but if they don't, then that data is recycled by the Digital World and used for other things. But you wouldn't reuse bad or corrupt data, would you? So if an evil Digimon's data is not absorbed by another Digimon, it's deleted to the Dark Area. As such, the Dark Area is the most vile, most evil place in the entire Digital World. That evil seeps into the Dark Ocean, which is the source of all the evil in the Digital World, causing good Digimon to go bad."

The teens listened intently to how the process of things worked in the Digital World. It was interesting information, but it didn't really help them.

"Rats," Davis muttered. "And here I was thinking we had found a way home."

"Sorry," Shoutmon replied. "As things stand, Cherubimon is the only one that can help us. He's been around since the beginning of the Digital World."

Takato thought about this. "Um, not to argue your point, but haven't _all_ Digimon been around since the beginning?"

Shoutmon wobbled his head. "Technically, yes, although there are some that were born or created later from large gatherings of data, sometimes even from the lingering data of a powerful Digimon that died. When I say that Cherubimon has been around since the beginning, I mean that he's never died once since his creation during the birth of the Digital World. So he's been in a position of power for a very long time."

"I'll say," Tai muttered. "So, we're back to square one. If we want to get home, we need Cherubimon's help."

Etemon leaned back, his hands behind his head. "I don't see why you need Cherubimon's help getting home. Who cares if you come from another world? Why can't this world be your home? Home is wherever you make it."

"Home is where the heart is," Kari told him. "And ours are back with our friends and family in the Real World."

Sighing, Takato looked up at the sky. "Yeah, it kills me to think how much my parents must be worrying about me."

Etemon made a face. "I don't get this whole parent-child concept."

"That's because we Digimon don't have family ties like humans do," Shoutmon explained. "Our ways are very different."

"Seems overly complicated to me. All I need is my music, baby."

"I could say the same," a new voice spoke up. "Your cries of pain shall suffice."

They were instantly on their feet, turning to the speaker. From out of the darkness of night, Duskmon's form slowly took shape as he approached. "Did you really think you could escape? What the master wants, the master gets."

"Duskmon," Tai growled.

"What happened to Kazemon and Gatomon?" TK demanded.

The demon Digimon stopped and stared at them. "I am under strict orders not to damage Kazemon too much. The master wants her intact. She will make a full recovery." His eyes narrowed. "However, I am under no such orders for Gatomon."

Kari covered her mouth. "You didn't…"

"Oh, she's alive. LadyDevimon wishes to put an end to her herself. However," something gold glittered in Duskmon's skull-hand, "she may not be satisfied with what's left."

He tossed the gold object on the ground. It was the tail ring that Gatomon wore. And Duskmon's foot stomped down on it, crushing it into data.

TK's fists clenched. "You're a monster."

The demon Digimon was unfazed by this comment. "We're all monsters. I just don't deny what my nature demands. To the prey, the predator is always a monster."

"Not true," TK argued back. "We've never felt any 'nature' of that sort. Even if it was in our nature, we decide whether to act on it or not. Being a monster is a choice, and you made yours."

Duskmon closed his eyes. "What idealistic fools you are." His blood red blades slid down. "I've had enough of you humans, I'll just spill your blood and take it to the master in jars!"

He charged at them, blades raised. There was a blur of movement, and Etemon was suddenly in front of him, having caught the demon Digimon's blades as he brought them down. "Not fast there, baby. I'll not be letting you hurt my friends."

"Friendship is a weakness," Duskmon told him, struggling against the Ultimate Digimon's hold. "It holds you back, makes you willing to sacrifice yourself for others."

"It also gives you the strength and determination to protect others," Etemon argued back. "It gives you somethin' to fight for."

"I do fight for something. I fight for my master, and myself."

They broke apart, jumping away from each other. Etemon took a fighting stance as he stood in front of the teens. "If you're looking for a fight, then fight me, baby. I must warn you though, I've got the power of music on my side. What do you have?"

Duskmon's eyes narrowed. "Nothing. I am completely empty."

The ape Digimon's grin widened. "Then you don't stand a chance. Music always overpowers the silence."

Takuya dared to step closer. "Etemon, what are you doing?"

"I'm distractin' him, sonny. Your Digi-thingies aren't powered up yet, right? Get outta here while you still can."

"But Etemon-" Kari began.

"You kids got people dependin' on you, right? What about Cutemon? You gonna leave that pretty lady in Myotismon's clutches?"

"But…"

"Let me do this. You kids make a run for it."

Kari looked like she wanted to argue further, but her brother grabbed her arm, pulling her back. "He's right, Kari, we have to go."

She looked back at their friend, getting a horrible feeling of déjà vu before reluctantly letting Tai pull her along.

"You're not going anywhere," Duskmon snarled and charged at them.

"Get back here!" Etemon cried. _"Dark Network!"_

Black cables flew at Duskmon, wrapping around his leg and arm, pulling him back. He glared at the ape Digimon, who just smirked at him. Raising his blades, he cut through the cable and began making his way towards Etemon. "Fine, I'll deal with you first."

 **(A/N: Ok, so we got a little history and geography lesson on how the Digital World works. Doing this research, I'm actually surprised at how in depth and complex the Digimon universe is. Um, that's the Digimon media universe, not the literal Digimon universe. Well, that too. And now Duskmon has found them. And without their Digivices functioning, they're pretty much helpless. Can Etemon hold him off? He may be an Ultimate to Duskmon's Champion, but Duskmon is one of those rare unique Champions that much stronger than he should be. Remember how he tore apart the DigiDestined in Season 4 even though they were in their Ultimate [Beast forms] stages? Yikes.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear or are mentioned. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) below with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/God**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Homeostasis**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Yggdrasil**

 **wikimon** _DOT_ **net/Yggdrasill_7D6**

 **wikimon** _DOT_ **net/Yggdrasill_Core**

 **wikimon** _DOT_ **net/Homeostasis**

 **wikimon** _DOT_ **net/God**


	32. Chapter 32: Recharged

**(A/N:** **Ok, cool, so we got some character requests. I'll see about working them in. Just remember, they might not all get majors rolls and could possibly just be side characters. And don't forget, this is going to be long fic, like 100 chapters long, so if you don't see your request right away, don't be too concerned, they may appear in the next two chapters, or the next 20, but I am keeping track of requests. Just keep in mind that I won't be able to accommodate everybody.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Chapter 32: Recharged**

It almost felt insulting to be running away like this again. Here they were, a team of seven, and unable to fight back against a single opponent. But Shoutmon wasn't strong enough to defeat someone like Duskmon, and without the ability to Spirit Evolve, the only thing their group could do was put as much space between themselves and their enemy as they could.

"Do you think Etemon will be ok?" Kari asked worriedly.

"He's an Ultimate to Duskmon's Champion," Tai told her. "I'm sure he can handle it."

Shoutmon hated to be the bearer of bad news, but they deserved to know the truth. "That may not be true. Duskmon is one of those rare, unique, abnormally strong Digimon whose power goes beyond the level that he's at. He can easily stand up to an Ultimate."

Kari stopped running. "What?"

Tai groaned. "Shoutmon, do you know the meaning of the word 'subtle'?"

"Of course. Why do you think I wouldn't…? Oh."

She looked back the way they had come as the others walked over to her. They had already put enough distance between them that they could no longer see or hear the battle taking place between the two Digimon. "We should go back. What if he needs help?"

"Don't be stupid!" Shoutmon snapped. "What can you do to help? You'll just waste the chance he gave us to escape."

Kari stared longingly into the distance. "But… Etemon…"

Takato, however, was staring in a different direction. He seemed to be unable to form words, so his hand came up to tug on Takuya's sleeve as he mumbled. "Bloo… mejewa… da, da, da, dee…"

The other boy gave him a strange look before he saw what had caught Takato's attention and rendered him speechless. "Oh, man. Guys, we have another problem!"

Approaching from the air was a certain undead Digimon. They had been so preoccupied with Duskmon that they had forgotten about his friend and where he might be. It would only make sense that SkullBaluchimon would be close by.

"Guys, lets move!" Tai shouted, pulling his sister along.

They hadn't gone more than a few feet before the undead Digimon landed in front of them. It turned around, snarling, and the teens backed away.

"Great," Davis muttered. "If it's not one thing, it's another."

As SkullBaluchimon approached, growling and drooling, Davis felt a weight on his head as Shoutmon jumped on him and leapt at the undead Digimon. He swung his mic, and was immediately knocked away by a swipe from SkullBaluchimon's claw.

He skidded across the ground, dazed, and shook his head. "Let me try that again." He leapt at SkullBaluchimon again. _"Rock and Roller!"_

He brought his mic down over the undead Digimon's head. With a snarl, he lunged at Shoutmon, his teeth clamping down on the length of his mic. Shoutmon was pinned to the ground, using his mic to keep SkullBaluchimon at bay.

"Shoutmon!" TK shouted.

"Don't worry about me! Get out of here!"

He kicked upward, his foot striking SkullBaluchimon's chin. The undead Digimon snarled and shook his head, shaking Shoutmon as well, who refused to let go of his mic until SkullBaluchimon's claw swiped at him, knocking him away.

"No!" Takuya cried, making to go after him. SkullBaluchimon roared, causing Takuya to pause and head in the opposite direction. The others followed his lead as they fled from the undead Digimon.

Skeletal wings rose in the air as a black vapor surrounded SkullBaluchimon. _"Deadly Fear!"_

The black vapor flew after the teens. It closed the gap between them, the cold tendrils of darkness reaching for the teens to pull them into the darkness.

"Hurry, it's getting closer!" Takuya shouted, feeling the coldness of the vapor approaching.

What served as a chuckle escaped the undead Digimon. That is, until a _Fiery Fastball_ exploded in his face, courteous of Shoutmon. "We've got to take this guy down," he called to his friends as the vapor dispersed. "SkullBaluchimon will never stop chasing his prey until he catches it."

"Well, that's great," Tai grumbled. "We can't run from him, we can't find him; what are we going to do?"

As SkullBaluchimon swiped at him, Shoutmon danced out of his reach. "I have an idea. Digimon are capable of sharing their energy with each other. If you can do the same, maybe the amount of power your Digivices have managed to recharge so far will be enough for one or two of you to Spirit Evolve."

"Share energy?" TK repeated. "How do we do that?"

"I don't know! Just focus on sending Tai your power! If only one of you can Spirit Evolve, we might as well go with MetalGreymon!"

They exchanged uncertain looks before Takato shrugged. "Well, it makes about as much sense as anything else."

"Right," Tai agreed. "Lets do it." He held up his Digivice. The others followed suit, pointing them at Tai's. They closed their eyes, focusing on sending him their power.

A dialing noise began to emit from the devices, and they began glowing. Beams of light flew out of their screens and into Tai's Digivice. It glowed brighter and brighter as it absorbed the light, and suddenly activated.

Tai looked at the screen, seeing the image of the cyborg dinosaur Digimon displayed. "Hey, it worked. _Execute! Spirit Evolution… MetalGreymon!"_

SkullBaluchimon finally managed to pin down Shoutmon. The dragon Digimon struggled beneath the boney paw as SkullBaluchimon ran his tongue over his fangs. A battle cry emitted from the cyborg dinosaur Digimon as he charged. SkullBaluchimon turned to him just before MetalGreymon tackled him, knocking him off Shoutmon. They crashed to the ground together, and the undead Digimon quickly leapt away.

MetalGreymon growled at him. "I'm sick of freaks like you attacking my friends. In fact, I'm sick of saying how I'm sick of you guys. Lets see how you like it when you're on the run. _Giga Blaster!"_

He fired missiles from his chest. SkullBaluchimon half jumped, half flew over them, pouncing at the cyborg dragon Digimon. MetalGreymon lashed out with his metal claw, and SkullBaluchimon chomped down on it, knocking him to the ground.

"Careful, Tai!" Kari shouted.

"Don't worry, I got this," he told her. _"Powerful Flame!"_

A wave of fire erupted from his claw, and SkullBaluchimon recoiled. MetalGreymon kicked out at him, knocking the undead Digimon away, and climbed to his feet. With a roar, he charged, but SkullBaluchimon recovered quickly. _"Grave Bone!"_

He stomped down, and the ground caved in beneath MetalGreymon's feet as if he were standing on a pitfall, leaving him half buried. SkullBaluchimon flew at him, and MetalGreymon used _Mega Claw_ , firing his metal arm on a cable at him. SkullBaluchimon swatted it away and landed on the cyborg Digimon, snarling in his face.

" _Giga Destroyer!"_ MetalGreymon cried, firing his strongest missiles.

SkullBaluchimon was blown off him, but recovered quickly, flipping around in the air and landing on his feet. _"Deadly Fear!"_

MetalGreymon had been busy trying to climb out of the ditch as the cold black vapor approached. He managed to get a leg out before turning his attention to the approaching darkness.

" _Over Flame!"_ he roared, slashing at the black vapor, his metal claw leaving a trail of fire. The flames collided with the cold darkness, the two attacks cancelling each other out.

Before the attacks completely dispersed, SkullBaluchimon came flying through them, tackling the cyborg dinosaur Digimon. MetalGreymon's organic arm wrapped around the undead Digimon's neck, keeping his snapping jaws away from his throat. "Take this!"

With a motion of his head, he brought his horn slamming into SkullBaluchimon's lower jaw. The undead Digimon roared as MetalGreymon aimed his metal arm at SkullBaluchimon's boney stomach and used _Trident Arm_ causing his metal claw to act as a piston, allowing him to throw the undead Digimon off him.

Flapping his wings, SkullBaluchimon landed a short distance away as MetalGreymon got to his feet. The two stared at each other for several moments before rushing forward at the same time. In a classic anime fashion, the deciding blow was decided, too quick to see as they whizzed past each other and now stood with their backs to the other.

The teens stared, waiting, praying. It was indeed a cliché moment. In the next few seconds, a victor would be revealed as one fell.

It was MetalGreymon. He collapsed to his knees, using his metal claw to support himself to prevent from falling over. A moment later, SkullBaluchimon burst into data.

Gasps escaped the DigiDestined as MetalGreymon struggled to get to his feet. The teens quickly ran to their friend as Shoutmon went for SkullBaluchimon's data before it vanished.

"MetalGreymon, are you ok?" Kari asked, placing her hands on her brother's leg.

The cyborg dinosaur Digimon grunted, covering his wound. "Yeah, I think I'll be alright; it's not that bad."

Davis grinned broadly. "Dude, that was classic. You see that kind of standoff thing all the time. Two guys go head to head, the good guy seems like he's going down, but then the bad guy drops instead. So cool!"

MetalGreymon offered him a smile, but it soon became a frown as he stared out into the distance. "This fight isn't over yet. I have to go back."

"Back for what?" Takato asked, but quickly remembered. "Duskmon!"

"Right. Etemon might be in trouble. I have to go help him. You guys wait here."

Takuya shook his fist at him. "No way! We're not just waiting around while you go run off to battle! I thought we settled this."

"Guys…"

"You're really going to leave us behind when we can't Spirit Evolve and only have Shoutmon to protect us?" Davis asked manipulatively.

MetalGreymon closed his eyes and growled. "You…" A sigh escaped him, and he lowered his tail. "Fine, climb on."

Shoutmon was making his way over to them just as the last of them was climbing onto MetalGreymon's back. "Hey, what's going on?"

"We're going to help Etemon," Kari called down to him.

The dragon Digimon's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "You're what? Are you crazy? You can't fight Duskmon on your own!"

"We can't leave him behind," MetalGreymon insisted and took off.

With a groan, Shoutmon leapt after them, finally managing to grab hold of the cyborg dinosaur Digimon's tail. With MetalGreymon's size, they covered a lot more ground in a short amount of time as they headed back the way they came.

But it was not an intense battle they came across, simply the remnants of one. Though the land was nothing more than a bunch of barren hills, there were clear signs of destruction.

"I don't see them anywhere," said Takato. "Do you guys?"

TK shook his head. "No, nothing."

"Hey," Davis exclaimed, "maybe Etemon kicked that big-eyed freak's butt, and then-"

"There he is!" Takuya cried, pointing.

A distance away, Etemon lied still in a crater. The others hurried over to him, MetalGreymon changing back to Tai. The ape Digimon was in bad shape. His sunglasses were missing, and he was covered in various wounds.

Kari dropped to his side. "Etemon, oh no…"

Wincing, he cracked an eye open and gave them a smile. "Hey, pretty lady," he muttered weakly. "You come here often?"

Tai and TK carefully sat him up. "Are you ok? What happened?"

The ape Digimon grit his teeth against the pain. "Sorry, sonny. I failed. The light of my song couldn't pierce his silencing darkness."

Shoutmon groaned. "Please, tell me you didn't just sing to him."

Etemon shook his head, or at least he tried to. "Nah, man, I gave 'em everything I had, but he was too strong. I bought you as much time as I could."

"You did more than enough," Tai told him. "Just be glad he didn't finish you off."

Shoutmon's fists clenched. "Glad nothing. He _wanted_ us to find Etemon like this. It's just the kind of thing he would do."

"Yeah, probably," Etemon confirmed. "He's really mean that way." He winced in pain again. "Hey, kids, you think you can do me a favor?"

"Of course, anything!" Takato replied right away.

Struggling, Etemon raised a shaking hand, pointing. "I lost my shades during the battle about 50 yards over there. I know it's dark, so it'll be hard ta find them, but could you go get them for me?"

Tai's eyes widened in realization, tears appearing in them. "O-Of course. We'll find them right away. Come on, guys."

"But, Tai…" Kari began, looking at Etemon worriedly.

"Go on," Shoutmon told them. "I'll stay with him."

With the exception of Tai, the teens exchanged uncertain looks, but at the dragon Digimon's insistence, they went in search of Etemon's missing sunglasses.

Once they were gone, Shoutmon glanced at him. "Find your sunglasses? Is that really the best you could come up with?"

A sly smile crept up the ape Digimon's face as he brought out his broken sunglasses. "On such short notice."

Shoutmon shook his head. "You're an idiot. What were you thinking challenging Duskmon like that?"

"I was thinking about buying you as much time as I could. Hope I was helpful."

"You were," the dragon Digimon confirmed with a nod.

He chuckled. "Glad to hear it. Hope I can still help you out a bit more." He looked up at the stars. "You know anything about astronomy?"

Shoutmon snorted. "Please. I'm the Digimon King. Why would I bother with that?"

Etemon smirked. "Well, at least remember this. You see that star there?"

Shoutmon looked where he was pointing. "Which star? That star?"

"No, that one."

"Yeah, what about it?"

Feeling his strength fading, Etemon lowered his arm. "Just follow that star, and you'll come to a stream. Follow it and it'll lead you right to Myotismon's dungeon. His castle is directly due west from it."

Shoutmon stared at the star, then looked back at Etemon. "Why didn't you just tell us that to begin with instead of coming all this way?"

"In case you needed me," the ape Digimon told him. He winked at him as he handed over his sunglasses. "Besides, the stars hadn't come out yet."

 **(A/N:** **I'm not too happy with that final line, but I wasn't sure how else to end it.** **Poor Etemon. In case you didn't get the point of him sending the others off to find his sunglasses when he really had them, it was because he didn't want them to see him when _it_ happens. How are the teens going to react when they find out? And where did Duskmon go? There's a lot more to come, so stay tuned.)**


	33. Chp 33: The Strength of the Human Heart

**(A/N: Important updating message at end. Got some news for my readers. Don't want to say it yet, 'cause I don't want to give away anything in the chapter, so make sure to read the Author's Note at the end.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Chapter 33: The Strength of the Human Heart**

The teens continued to search futilely for Etemon's missing sunglasses. They knew it would be hard to find the black shades at this time of night, but they continued too look; it was the least they could do after the beating the ape Digimon had taken so they could escape.

"We're never gonna find these things," Davis grumbled. "It's too dark. We need a fire for some light or something. Where's Shoutmon?"

"We don't need a light," Tai told him. "Just keep looking."

"Huh? But if Shoutmon makes us a fire, we'd be able to find them so much eas-"

"Just keep looking."

Davis looked confused, but didn't argue any further. He wondered if, perhaps, the sunglasses had burst into data as things in this world tended to do when they were destroyed. They'd definitely never find them if that were the case. And couldn't Etemon simply produce new ones like Shoutmon did with his mic?

With a sigh, he looked in the direction the two Digimon were and saw the dragon Digimon making his way over to them. "Hey, Shoutmon!" he cried, waving to him.

There was no reply, and the teens quickly gathered around him.

"No luck with the sunglasses," Takato told him. "Did you come to help us look? How's Etemon?"

The dragon Digimon hung his head and held up the ape Digimon's glasses.

"Oh, good, you found them," said Takuya. He began to walk back. "Come on, let's give them to him."

Shoutmon's hand shot out, grabbing his wrist. "We can't give them back. He's not there anymore."

Davis blinked. "Where'd he go?"

He released Takuya's wrist. "He didn't lose them. He had them the whole time. He was just trying to send you away."

TK inhaled sharply as Kari's hand went to her mouth. Tai closed his eyes and looked away while Takato and Takuya shared a confused look before realization settled in.

Davis, however, still didn't get it. "Huh? Wait. Why would he send us to find his shades if he had them? And where could he possibly be going with those injuries?"

Tai grit his teeth. "Davis, don't you get it? Etemon is gone! He sent us away because he didn't want us to watch him… watch him…"

His look alike stared, not understanding, not wanting to understand. "Watch him what?" When the older boy didn't answer, he looked back at the others and asked again, almost pleadingly. "Watch him what?"

He still didn't get an answer. But then, he didn't really need one. He already knew the truth, and it brought him crashing to his knees. "Tell me," he begged. "What didn't he want us to watch?"

"Is this what is known as denial? How very pathetic."

They all whirled around to find Duskmon rising up out of the shadows, his blood reed blades drawn. They backed away as he rose to his full height and stalked towards them. "This affection you hold for that weakling, it's disgusting. Your blood would undoubtedly give the master indigestion." He raised his blade. "However, I have my orders. Now, girl, will you come along quietly, or shall I slaughter more of your friends?"

Takuya was seething with fury. "You… You monster!"

"We've been through this already, little human. I do not wish to have the same conversation twice. Now, give me the girl."

Tai stepped in front of her. "Don't you touch her, or I'll take you out just as I did SkullBaluchimon."

Duskmon cocked his head to the side. "You defeated SkullBaluchimon?" He chuckled coldly, unfeelingly. "And you think that frightens me? Though I am only a Champion, my power outstrips that mindless beast's. But if you don't believe me, I shall be happy to demonstrate."

Tai looked like he wanted to say something further, but Shoutmon stopped him. "He's right. You can't beat him on your own. It'll take all of you working together."

"Ok," said Takato, "just one problem. Our Digivices have no power. And whatever power they did have, we gave to Tai."

Shoutmon turned to him. "I have a solution for that." He held up his hands and bands of Fractal Code flowed out of them. It gathered in front of him, forming a ball of glowing data.

"What's that?" Kari asked, staring at the light.

"It's the energy I gathered from absorbing SkullBaluchimon and Etemon's data. I can use it to charge your Digivices."

Takato's mouth dropped open. "You absorbed Etemon's data?"

The dragon Digimon glared at him. "Hey, he wasn't going to use it, and I wasn't about to let it go to waste. I absorbed Gomamon's data too, and you didn't have any complaints."

"You absorbed Gomamon's data?!"

He held up the ball of data. "Just take it already. Hold up your Digivices."

Uncomfortable with the situation, but knowing they had no choice, everyone but Tai held out their Digivices. Fractal Code flowed out of the ball of data Shoutmon held and into their Digivices, reactivating them.

"Alright," Tai growled, taking out his own. "Lets teach this guy a lesson. _Execute! Spirit Evolution… MetalGreymon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… ExVeemon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Growlmon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Agunimon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Nefertimon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Angemon!"_

The team was back in action, fully charged and ready for battle. Duskmon didn't seem bothered by their superior numbers as he sliced his blades together. "How quaint. I'm going to enjoy this."

He rushed at them. ExVeemon fired a _Vee-Laser_ , and he sliced the attack in half and kept going. The party went flying as he slammed into them. MetalGreymon recovered quickly, and whirled around, using _Metal Slash Revision._ Duskmon jumped straight up, and Angemon flew at him, using _Angel Rod_. Duskmon blocked, the eyes on his chest and shoulder shifting to gaze at the angel Digimon and blasted him away with _Deadly Gaze_.

Still in the air, he used _Lunar Plasma_ , drawing a red moon with his sword to obscure him, and then dropping from the sky towards MetalGreymon. The cyborg dinosaur Digimon used _Over Flame_ , but Duskmon used _Ghost Move_ , teleporting past the flames and slashing MetalGreymon, sending a shower of sparks flying from his steel covered chest.

" _Rosetta Stone!"_ Nefertimon cried, firing a stone slab.

Duskmon spun around and sliced the stone slab in half. She fired several more, and he proceeded to cut them apart or shatter them with kicks. _"Memory Disturbance!"_

Her attacks ceased as she groaned in pain. The demon Digimon was inside her head, rummaging through her memories.

"Stop it!" ExVeemon shouted, flying towards him.

"Leave her alone!" cried Angemon, coming from the other direction.

Duskmon teleported at the last moment, and the two crashed into each other. When he reappeared, Growlmon was ready. He fired a _Pyro Blaster_ , but Duskmon jumped up to avoid it. Growlmon tried again, flinging a _Dragon Slash_ at him. At the same time, Agunimon ran up his back and leapt at the demon Digimon. Duskmon cut through Growlmon's attack, but Agunimon's fist slammed into his jaw as he used _Pyro Punch_ , the fiery dragon forming and exploding in his face.

A growl escaped him, and he began spinning around, slashing his blades. Agunimon cried out as the red swords sliced against his armor, doing little to protect him. As he unleashed upon the fire wizard Digimon, Angemon came up behind him and used _Hand of Fate_. The attack struck Duskmon in the back, knocking him to the ground.

MetalGreymon used _Giga Blaster_ , but Duskmon leapt to his feet and used _Ghost Move_. He reappeared in the air by MetalGreymon's head, delivering a powerful kick that vibrated through his metal headgear.

Nefertimon fired another _Rosetta Stone_ , and ExVeemon landed on it, hitching a ride towards Duskmon as he used his _Hearty Shatter_. Duskmon danced out of the way of the fireballs and did a backflip to avoid the giant stone slab. ExVeemon leapt off before it crashed to the ground, tackling the demon Digimon.

"Get off me," he growled, kneeing the dragon Digimon in the gut and pushing him away. ExVeemon grunted and rolled to the side as Duskmon leapt to his feet. "You dare to knock me down!" he snarled, kicking ExVeemon in the side. "I'll make sure you stay down. _Geist Blade Storm!"_

Consumed by a red moon, the area all around them was slashed to pieces, and ExVeemon went flying, covered in various cuts.

"ExVeemon!"

Duskmon turned to see Agunimon and MetalGreymon charging towards him, the former riding on the latter's head, and he retaliated with _Brute Strike_. The two barely saw the attack before he struck them with his swords so hard they were sent flying.

A golden rope of light lassoed around him, and he turned to Nefertimon as she fired her _Nile Jewelry_ attack, showering him with jewels. He grunted irritably and felt the ground tremble as Growlmon charged at him. With a swipe of his blade, he severed Nefertimon's _Golden Noose_ and did a flip in the air to avoid Growlmon's _Growl Claw_ and kick him in the head. He then teleported over to Nefertimon and brought his skull-hand slamming down on the back of her head.

MetalGreymon forced himself to his feet. "Get away from my sister. _Giga Blaster!"_

All of Duskmon's eyes darted towards the cyborg dinosaur Digimon. _"Deadly Gaze!"_

The beams he fired destroyed the missiles and blasted MetalGreymon off his feet. He then jumped in the air, did a flip, and stomped down on the cyborg dinosaur Digimon's gut, forcing him to emit a painful grunt.

" _Angel Rod!"_ Angemon cried, bringing his staff down.

Duskmon held up his blade, blocking the attack, then delivered a roundhouse kick to the angel Digimon's side, crippling one of his wings and sending him flying. Turning back to MetalGreymon, he pointed his blade in his face. "Resistance is futile. You cannot defeat me. I'm not just a snatcher, I am Lord Myotismon's top assassin. You don't stand a chance against me. Now you will die like that puny worm."

A distance away, ExVeemon's eyes snapped open. "What did you say?" Ignoring the agonizing pain his body was in, he forced himself to stand up. "Don't you dare bad-mouth Etemon."

Despite his eternal stoic expression, Duskmon was astounded. "Impossible. How can you be standing with those injuries?"

ExVeemon ignored the question as he took a step forward. "He was such a pure soul. He wanted to spread peace and love through the power of song. And you slaughtered him."

Beneath him, MetalGreymon attempted to get up, but Duskmon pressed the point of his sword into his throat. "He was weak. He'd be better off staying in his Digi-Egg indefinitely."

"ExVeemon, stay back," MetalGreymon told him. "You're too injured."

The dragon Digimon ignored him as he approached the demon Digimon. "Shut up. Just shut up! You don't get to talk about our friend like that after what you did to him. You don't even get to say his name!"

An anguished cry emitted from ExVeemon. The wounds on his body began glowing, unleashing streams of light that wrapped around him. From his hiding place, Shoutmon looked on in wonder. "Hey, that's…"

Even Duskmon's eyes were wide. "It can't be…"

" _ExVeemon Digivolve to… Paildramon!"_

The light of Digivolution faded, and Davis' new Ultimate form was revealed. Still resembling ExVeemon, he was now covered in dark green and black armor with what appeared to be machine guns attached to his hips.

"How?" Duskmon asked in bewilderment. "How did you accomplish this when you're so badly damaged?"

"That's just the power of the human spirit," Paildramon told him in his new voice.

While he was distracted, MetalGreymon made his move, slashing at Duskmon with his metal claw. The demon Digimon went airborne, and, displaying incredible speed, Paildramon was suddenly there. His large fist slammed into Duskmon, and he went crashing to the ground.

" _Electric Bolt!"_ the new Ultimate cried, trying out one of his new attacks.

Duskmon looked up as Paildramon fired a bolt of electricity at him. He used _Ghost Move_ to avoid the attack, but ended up teleporting too close to Growlmon. _"Fire Blaster!"_ the dinosaur Digimon cried, breathing a stream of fire.

Duskmon leapt away, the flames singing his blonde locks. Up in the sky, Nefertimon and Angemon fired their _Queen's Paw_ and _Holy Shot_ at him. Duskmon took off as explosive projectiles and energy bullets rained down around him. MetalGreymon had gotten to his feet at this point and fired his _Mega Claw_. Duskmon leapt over it, only to be greeted in the air by Agunimon, who unleashed his _Pyro Tornado_ , his flaming legs kicking the demon Digimon as a fiery tornado appeared.

Duskmon growled as the spinning inferno swirled around him. He teleported out of it, but immediately had to jump up to avoid the incredibly fast Paildramon's _Cable Catcher_. He avoided the attack, but the dragon Digimon once more displayed his speed by slamming into him, and Duskmon skidded across the ground.

" _Desperado Blaster!"_ Paildramon cried. The guns on his hips rose and pointed at the demon Digimon. A spray of bullets shot out, tearing the ground apart as if fired from a mini-gun.

Duskmon only had time to rise to his feet and hold up his arms to defend himself before he was showered with bullets. Nefertimon and Angemon came to stand beside Paildramon, firing their _Beam of Isis_ and _Hand of Fate_. They were soon joined by Growlmon using _Pyro Blaster_ and Agunimon using _Blaze Gust_.

MetalGreymon was the last to join them, the compartments on his chest opening. _"Giga Blaster!"_

The missiles flew past the other attacks, slamming into Duskmon and exploding. The others ceased their attacks as they waited for the dust to settle. From a distance, Shoutmon watched with large shining eyes. "Incredible, so this is the power of the human heart."

The dust finally cleared, revealing Duskmon on his knees, his head slumped over, his body smoking. The DigiDestined didn't drop their guard as MetalGreymon took a step forward. "It's over, Duskmon. Surrender now."

Slowly, the demon Digimon lifted his head, his eyes filled with malice. "Surrender? You expect me to surrender? I would sooner die."

"You can't beat us," Paildramon insisted. "Not anymore."

"So you think," he replied, forcing himself to stand. "You poor, simple-minded humans have no idea what you're dealing with. I have yet to show you what I can really do. I've simply been holding back. I don't like going all out, because I become irrational, and it makes it hard to think straight."

Agunimon pointed at him. "You're bluffing. Don't think you can scare us."

To their surprise, the demon Digimon actually laughed. It was the biggest display of emotion he had displayed so far. "Scare you? I'm not trying to scare you. I'm simply stating a fact. But mark my words, you will be afraid. _Duskmon Digivolve to… Velgemon!"_

 **(A/N: If you've watched Season 4 or at least know about Velgemon, then you'll know that our heroes are in big trouble. Velgemon may be an Ultimate, but he's one of the rare and unique ones whose power borders on Mega. Not to mention he's one of those really ruthless, savage, mindless kinds. The DigiDestined are going to be in for quite fight. And now for that announcement. I've decided that if a chapter has a battle in it, like this one, and the battle does not end by the time the chapter does, I will work extra hard and fast to try and have the next chapter out the following week instead of in two weeks. So if a battle is inconclusive, like this one was, then expect an update the following week instead of in two weeks. That includes this one. So I'll have the next chapter put next Wednesday.)**

 **Paildramon** **'** **s attacks:**

 **Desperado Blaster** **–** ** _Fires a series of bullets from the guns on his hips like a machine gun._**

 **Sting Strike** **–** ** _Extends the spikes on his wrists into lances and strikes with them._**

 **Electric Bolt** **–** ** _Fires a bolt of electricity from his hands._**

 **Cable Catcher** **–** ** _Fires his claws on wires to bind or stab his enemies._**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _ **DOT **_**in the link(s) below with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _ **DOT**_ **wikia** _ **DOT**_ **com/wiki/** **Paildramon**

 **digimon** _ **DOT**_ **wikia** _ **DOT**_ **com/wiki/** **Velgemon**


	34. Chapter 34: The Ultimate Bird of Prey

**(A/N: Hey, I got it done on time. I wondered if I'd be able to finish in one week. Fortunately, fight scenes aren't that complicated to write. I'll try and continue this process of posting an unfinished fight the next week rather than waiting two weeks. No guarantee on that though.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Chapter 34: The Ultimate Bird of Prey**

Gasps escaped the DigiDestined as they stared at Duskmon's Digivolved form. Now at the Ultimate level, he resembled a giant, demonic, zombie vulture. Duskmon had been intimidating enough, but this monstrous beast was downright terrifying.

From his hiding spot, Shoutmon felt his stomach drop. "Oh, crap. This isn't good."

Velgemon screeched and flapped his wings, taking to the air. He circled overhead like a bird of prey, ready to swoop down and snatch its latest victim.

Paildramon raised his guns. _"Desperado Blaster!"_

The bullets went flying, and Velgemon maneuvered about in the air, avoiding most of them. He swooped down, swerving around the spray of bullets, his talons clenching and unclenching in anticipation. Angemon flew up to meet him, swinging his staff, but Velgemon easily batted him away with his wing and continued his descent.

He reached Paildramon, his talons grasping the dragon Digimon's shoulder. Paildramon was lifted off the ground, unable to break free, even as he attempted to fly in the opposite direction. Velgemon dove back down, slamming Paildramon into the ground and dragged him across the rocky surface.

" _Rosetta Stone!"_ Nefertimon cried.

The vulture Digimon's tail whipped back, shattering the stone slab before it hit. He released Paildramon and doubled back. MetalGreymon rushed towards him, but Velgemon unleashed his _Dark Vortex_ , firing red beams from his eyes.

The beams struck the cyborg dinosaur Digimon, and he froze. His eyes began glowing as he unwillingly turned to his friends and fired his _Giga Blaster_.

"What are you doing?" Growlmon shouted.

The missiles sped towards them. Angemon quickly moved in their path, spinning his staff as he used _Angel Staff_ , knocking them aside.

MetalGreymon blinked, the redness disappearing from his eyes. "What… What did I just…?"

"Careful!" Shoutmon shouted to them. "Velgemon's _Dark Vortex_ can change someone's nature to darkness and control them!"

What seemed to be laughter emitted from the vulture Digimon as he flew overhead, firing more lasers from his eyes. These, however, seemed to be meant to cause damage rather than control as they tore the land apart around them.

MetalGreymon glared up at the vulture Digimon as he ducked to avoid the beams. "You dare to make me attack my friends?! _Mega Claw!"_

His metal arm was fired into the air, high enough to reach his target. But Velgemon grabbed his claw and flew up. The cable ran out of length, and MetalGreymon was lifted into the air, the massively large dinosaur Digimon being carried off by the much smaller vulture Digimon.

"Leave my brother alone!" Nefertimon cried, flying after them.

"Nefertimon, wait!" Angemon called after her.

She ignored him as she followed the two, MetalGreymon unable to do anything but go for a ride. Being careful to avoid him, she fired several stone slabs at the vulture Digimon. Velgemon simply blasted them out of the sky with his _Dark Vortex,_ then flew past her, dragging MetalGreymon along. He slammed into Nefertimon, and they both crashed to the ground.

Angemon took to the air. "That does it! _Omni Typhoon!"_

As the angel Digimon's tornado appeared, Agunimon turned to Growlmon. "Throw me into the tornado!"

The dinosaur Digimon blinked. "What?"

"Do it, quick!"

Growlmon looked up at the tornado before grabbing the fire wizard Digimon and throwing him into it. Once in the air, Agunimon began spinning around and kicking as he unleashed his _Pyro Tornado_. The flaming vortex combined with Angemon's attack, doubling the fiery tornado in size.

Velgemon recoiled from the flames as the attacks came at him, screeching angrily. Growlmon took the opportunity to run around him. "Try dodging this! _Dragon Spine!"_

The needles of hair on his back sprayed across Velgemon's wings. The vulture Digimon shrieked at him, flying down with his talons open.

"Uh oh," the dinosaur Digimon muttered, and turned to flee. But Growlmon wasn't built for speed, and Velgemon soon snagged him by the tail, carrying him into the sky. Then, to everyone's surprise, he flew straight through the fiery tornado, taking Growlmon with him. Upon bursting out the other side, he did a flip in the air and released the smoking Growlmon, and he landed hard on his back.

"Hey, ugly!" Paildramon cried, flying at him. "Heads up!"

Using his _Sting Strike_ , he lashed out at the vulture Digimon. Velgemon dodged, and at point blank range, fired his _Dark Vortex_ into Paildramon's face.

"Hold on, Paildramon, I'm coming!" Angemon called, flying over to them.

With glowing red eyes, the dragon Digimon turned to his comrade. Cupping his hands together, he created a ball of electricity and threw it at Angemon. The angel Digimon was so surprised that he wasn't able to deflect it in time and was blasted from the sky.

Paildramon blinked, his eyes turning back to normal. He whirled around, glaring at the vulture Digimon. "You'll pay for that!"

Velgemon's wing shot out, pointing at Paildramon's face. He drew a circle in the air, leaving a trail of light behind. The ring he drew hung in the air before something emerged from the outline, like a mouth materializing and closing to form a dome in the air that was slowly shutting. The moment it closed, it exploded in the dragon Digimon's face.

Paildramon crashed to the ground, and the others quickly went to check on him. "Are you alright?" Agunimon asked. He looked up at Velgemon. "What was that?"

As he watched, the vulture Digimon flew a distance away and descended. Turning on his side, he began flying in a circle, dragging the tip of his wing across the ground, leaving a trail of light behind where he touched.

Paildramon struggled to sit up. "That's what he did when we were in the air. We have to get out of here! Run! Or fly! Whatever!"

Velgemon completed his rotation, having finished drawing a circle around the DigiDestined. Just like up in the sky, the dome began to close, the ratio of the circle Velgemon had drawn quite large. MetalGreymon, Agunimon, and Growlmon ran for the sides as Paildramon, Angemon, and Nefertimon flew straight up. Neither group was fast enough, and the dome closed over them.

" _Dark Obliteration!"_ Velgemon roared.

The entire dome erupted in a mass explosion with the DigiDestined inside. Shoutmon looked on in horror, glad he hadn't gone to check on Paildramon with the others.

As the smoke cleared, Velgemon came in for a landing. He saw the teens, back in human form, lying in a massive crater. In the back of his mind, he knew he was supposed to do something, bring the girl to his master, but he was so lost in his bloodlust that it was hard to think straight. His fangs itched to taste human blood. He wanted to devour these pathetic creatures, and he bent down to do just that.

" _Fiery Fastball!"_

The attack struck him in the face. It didn't even faze him, but it drew his attention. Shoutmon stood a distance away, his legs trembling, but looking determine. "S-Stay away from my friends!"

Velgemon screeched and flew after him. Shoutmon gave a squeak of fright and fled. The vulture Digimon leisurely followed, firing beams from his eyes that Shoutmon jumped to avoid. He could hear his pursuer laughing as it played with him.

"Just how far is this stream?" he wondered out loud, heading in the direction of the star Etemon had pointed out to him.

Having grown tired of having his attacks dodged, Velgemon swooped down, talons open. His shadow fell over the dragon Digimon, and Shoutmon dropped down at the last second to avoid being grabbed. Passing overhead, Velgemon hissed in irritation as Shoutmon threw a _Fiery Fastball_ at him for good measure. He doubled back, flying low this time as Shoutmon ran right at him.

" _Dark Vortex!"_ he cried, firing lasers from his eyes.

Shoutmon jumped over the beams, producing his mic. _"Rock and Roller!"_

He bashed Velgemon over the head, landed on the vulture Digimon's back, and ran down the length of his body. Velgemon was unharmed, but he growled in annoyance and flew high once more.

"There it is!" Shoutmon cried, seeing the stream ahead. He ran for it, knowing Velgemon was right behind him. Or so he thought. The vulture Digimon suddenly flew past him, dragging his wing on the ground, drawing another circle.

Shoutmon felt his stomach drop as he realized Velgemon was repeating his _Dark Obliteration_ attack around him. No way would he survive that if he were caught up in it. Putting on a burst of speed, he ran for it. Fortune favored him, for Velgemon had begun to draw the circle directly behind him, so when the dome rose up and began to close, the opening was directly in front of him, the stream just outside it.

But it was closing fast as the two halves of the dome came together. Velgemon was circling overhead, and Shoutmon lost sight of him as the closing dome obscured his vision. It was almost shut now, the exit getting smaller ad smaller. Shoutmon made a jump for it.

The dome closed, the half a sphere erupting. Velgemon continued circling, waiting for the smoke to clear. When it finally died down, there was no sign of the dragon Digimon. All that was left was the broken and bent remains of his mic just before it broke down into data.

Velgemon screeched his victory and took off into the night, the humans he had left behind already forgotten.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Shoutmon's eyes cracked open. He sat up and looked around, trying to get his bearings. It was no longer night, and there was no sign of Velgemon anywhere. Shoutmon swore as he got to his feet. He hadn't meant to fall asleep. After just barely managing to escape from the dome before it closed on him, he had submerged himself in the stream, using the water for cover.

He had stayed under for as long as he could, waiting for Velgemon to leave, hoping he could hold his breath until he did. When he had surfaced, the vulture Digimon was gone. Shoutmon had then crawled back onto land and collapsed. He had only meant to rest for a few minutes, but had ended up falling asleep.

"My friends, he gasped. He hoped they were ok. He hadn't been able to check on them after Velgemon's attack, his only goal being to get the vulture Digimon away from them.

He ran back the way he came, praying Velgemon hadn't gone back for them, or that some other Digimon didn't pick them off. He didn't think he had to worry about the former; Velgemon had a short attention span, eager to move on to the next kill.

He skidded to a halt as he arrived at the place he had left his human friends. There _was_ another Digimon there, one he recognized too. "ShogunGekomon?"

The giant red amphibian Digimon was indeed there. He was laying on is back, snoring loudly, the teens wrapped in his arms like stuffed animals. Shoutmon's eye twitched. Here he was, worried sick about them after having lured Velgemon away, and they were snuggling up with ShogunGekomon.

"Hey, what's going on here?" he shouted.

Kari stirred, her eyes slowly opening. She rubbed the sleep from them, looking for the source of her waking. She gasped when she saw the dragon Digimon. "Shoutmon!" she cried, and began struggling to get out of ShogunGekomon's grasp. "Guys, it's Shoutmon!"

"That's nice," Tai grumbled sleepily beside her.

"Come on, wake up! Shoutmon's still alive!"

The dragon Digimon blinked as she managed to squeeze out of ShogunGekomon's hold and ran over to him. They had thought he was dead? Well, that explained why they had curled up with the amphibian Digimon instead of search for him. What was the big guy doing here anyway?

The air was suddenly squeezed out of him as Kari hugged him tightly. At this point, most of the others had woken up as well and realized that their friend was still alive.

"Shoutmon, thank goodness," said Tai as he hurried over.

Takato had tears of happiness in his eyes. "When we woke up and couldn't find you, we were afraid Velgemon killed you."

"Nope, still alive," Shoutmon wheezed, "but I might not be for long if you don't let me go; I can't breathe!"

Kari finally released him. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm just glad you're alright."

Shoutmon dusted himself off. "I'm fine. I hid in a stream after I lured Velgemon away from you guys. Then I… uh, passed out on the shore afterwards."

Takuya nodded in understanding. "So that's why he didn't finish us off. We figured something like that happened, but when you didn't come back, we feared the worst. And it's not like you guys leave a body behind to confirm it one way or another. Poor Davis cried himself to sleep."

They looked back to find the boy in question still sleeping while ShogunGekomon was now sitting up, rubbing his eyes. Shoutmon nodded in his direction. "So, what's up with ShogunGekomon? When'd he get here?"

"Oh, him?" said Tai. "He found us last night when we were unconscious."

"I got worried about your journey," the amphibian Digimon replied as he marched over, setting down the still sleeping Davis. "So I decided to see if I could help. I only wish I had caught up sooner."

Shoutmon glanced at the teens. "Does he know?"

TK nodded sadly. "We had to tell him."

ShogunGekomon's tentacle drooped. "He died an honorable death. Songs will be sung about his bravery."

Takato sweat-dropped. "Right, more songs, great."

With tears in his eyes, the amphibian Digimon thumped his fist over his heart. "I solemnly swear I will find Etemon again, and our songs shall echo across the land!"

They weren't sure how to respond to that, so they let the subject drop.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" Takato asked. "Even with Paildramon on our side, Velgemon still beat us. If we can't even beat him, how are we supposed to beat Myotismon?"

Shoutmon crossed his arms. "Velgemon is extremely powerful, but he's just a wild beast. We weren't prepared to have Duskmon Digivolve on us." He grinned. "And he certainly wasn't prepared to have ExVeemon Digivolve to Paildramon."

"For all the good it did," Takuya grumbled.

Shoutmon just waved this off. "I'm not too worried about that. Paildramon had only just Digivolved, I mean, ExVeemon did. It always takes some time for a newly Digivolved Digimon to adapt to their new form and powers. Davis will master them in no time. In fact, seeing the strength you humans possess and how it can be used to bring out a Digimon's power and potential has only given me hope."

Tai looked at his Digivice. "They're not doing much good now. That fight with Velgemon used up all their power again, and after we just recharged them too." He squeezed it tightly. "This is getting frustrating. Now we have to wait longer before we can do anything!"

ShogunGekomon tapped his chin. "Maybe not. I think I can help."

They looked up at him. "How?" TK asked.

"I can do what Shoutmon did to recharge your Digivices. I know I won't be much use in a fight against Myotismon, Duskmon, or LadyDevimon, but I can give you my energy so you can fight against them."

"ShogunGekomon," said Kari, "we couldn't ask you to do that."

Shoutmon crossed his arms. "Oh, but you could let me."

The amphibian Digimon shook his head. "I want to do this. I was a coward not to come before, but I can still help out in this way. At least let me be content in knowing that I helped you avenge Etemon. Now hold still."

He held up his hand. Golden pixelated light flowed out of his palm and over the teens. In Tai's hand, his Digivice reactivated, the image of Agumon reappearing on the screen. "Alright," he said, "fully charged. Thanks, ShogunGeko…"

He trailed off as the amphibian Digimon's body began glowing gold. It wasn't like the light of Digivolution that brightly shined outward, rather, it was more like his body had simply turned to light. And then suddenly he began to shrink and change shape.

"What's happening?" Kari asked worriedly.

"It's fine," Shoutmon assured her.

ShogunGekomon continued to shrink down until he was no bigger than the dragon Digimon. Finally, he stopped glowing, and what appeared to be a small, skinny, green version of ShogunGekomon with a single horn now stood in his place. "Hi," he said, waving a webbed hand. "I'm Gekomon."

TK blinked. "Gekomon?"

"He's ShogunGekomon's Champion form," Shoutmon explained. "After giving away all that energy, he DeDigivolved."

Takato bent down to the amphibian Digimon's level. "DeDigivolved? Does that mean he has to spend centuries absorbing data before he can become ShogunGekomon again?"

"Oh, no," Gekomon assured him. "Having Digivolved already, ShogunGekomon is part of my Fractal Code. It's only when a Digimon dies that that data is lost and we have to go around absorbing data in order to initially Digivolve to the next level. I'll be able to become ShogunGekomon again once I replenish my energy."

He frowned. "Unfortunately, I won't be able to accompany you any further. I barely managed to bring myself to come this far at the Ultimate level; I dare not face Myotismon and his men while only a Champion."

Tai gave him a reassuring smile. "Hey, don't sweat it. You've already done more than enough. Thanks to you, we can keep going on. We'll be sure to save everyone and avenge Etemon."

Takuya nodded. "Yeah, we'll take care of the bad guys. You just focus on spreading your music throughout the Digital World."

With tears in his eyes, Gekomon nodded. "I will, I swear it. Thank you, my friends."

At that moment, Davis decided to wake up. "What'd I miss?"

 **(A/N: Wow, they got destroyed. You thought they'd be able to handle him since Paildramon had just appeared last chapter. But, hey, Duskmon alone was able to old his own against them, so Velgemon isn't going to be a pushover. Good thing he's not the sharpest nail in the coffin though. Ha, ha, Get coffin, 'cause he's like an undead Digimon? Sorry, bad joke. Fortunately, Shoutmon was able to divert his attention. And ShogunGekomon made a reappearance. Was that too abrupt? I felt it was too abrupt. Well, next time our heroes will stop running and start fighting back, so be ready for that.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _ **DOT **_**in the link(s) below with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _ **DOT**_ **wikia** _ **DOT**_ **com/wiki/Gekomon**


	35. Chapter 35: I Smell A Rat

**(A/N: Ok, here we go. New chapter update. The beginning of this chapter may be a little disturbing to some, so be warned, but then we'll get back to the better stuff. You may be a little confused with some of the characters' behavior in this chapter, but I'll explain why this is done in the Author's Note at the end.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Chapter 35: I Smell A Rat**

Cutemon felt sick. Not sick with a cold, but sick in the disgusted, repulsed, nauseated sense. Apparently, with her healing powers, Myotismon considered her to be very valuable and wanted to keep her with him at all times. She had been chained to the wall in his chambers for the past two hours now while he and LadyDevimon… fornicated with each other, if one could even call it that. And while she was no stranger to the act of mating, the vile things he and LadyDevimon did could barely be considered as such; it was more along the lines of sexual torture, yet the fallen angel Digimon reveled in it.

Then Duskmon had arrived. It seemed neither Myotismon nor LadyDevimon were concerned with their depraved activities being viewed by others since they hadn't bothered to lock the door. The demon Digimon had simply walked in and bowed before his master.

And there he had stayed, down on one knee, waiting patiently for his master to acknowledge him. Myotismon paid him no mind, keeping his attention on more… appealing matters. And Duskmon had waited, for nearly 15 minutes, before the vampire Digimon finally addressed him. "You bring news of the humans, I trust?"

Duskmon continued to stare at the floor. "I do, my lord. I regret to say that they managed to defeat SkullBaluchimon."

"Oh my!" said LadyDevimon, running her tongue over her fangs. "Those weaklings did?"

"Furthermore, another one of them managed to reach the Ultimate level. I was forced to Digivolve to Velgemon."

The vampire Digimon considered this. He knew that with the vulture Digimon's violent and unpredictable nature that Duskmon would only Digivolve if he needed to, and when he did, he left a trail of death and destruction in his wake. "I see," he replied, his tone giving away nothing. "The humans are dead then?

"Yes, my lord."

"And the female?"

"Forgive me, my lord."

Anger bubbled up in the vampire Digimon as he lamented his loss at the chance to taste human blood, a chance he'd likely never get to have again, and he felt the urge to lash out at the demon Digimon. But he prided himself on his gentlemanly manner, and fits of violence were not in his nature. Rather, he had a cold, sadistic anger that he unleashed in a cool merciless fashion.

Cutemon stepped forward, the chin around her neck only letting her go so far. "They're dead?"

Myotismon's attention shifted to her, and his anger found an outlet in the form of mental torture. "Does that make you sad, little one? Your human friends are dead, killed trying to save you. And they don't come back to life like us, do they? How does it feel to know you are responsible for their deaths?"

Cutemon wiped her eyes and glared at the vampire Digimon. "They died because of _you_ , and for a noble cause. At least I can take solace in the fact that they were spared from any suffering at your hand."

Said hand shot out. Grabbing the chain and lifting her into the air with it. "Something you cannot hope for yourself. You should really be more concerned for your own wellbeing."

Though terrified, the fairy Digimon put up a brave front. "Y-You won't break me. I'm strong, a lot stronger than that _thing_ next to you."

LadyDevimon hissed at her, but Myotismon just laughed. "Yes, you just keep showing me that rebellious attitude of yours, because you won't have it for long." His blue eyes shined evilly. "That I promise you."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

The DigiDestined looked up at the tall cylindrical tower before them. Having found and followed the stream Shoutmon had said Etemon told them about before he died, they finally made it here.

"So, this is where Myotismon keeps everyone he's had his snatchers kidnap, huh?" Davis muttered, looking at the structure. Smiling, he placed his hands on his hips. "Nice place. Lets blow it up."

TK closed his eyes and sighed. "Davis, if we do that, then everyone inside would get hurt."

The boy sweat-dropped. "Y-Yeah, I knew that. I meant _after_ we freed them." He laughed nervously. "Um, maybe Cutemon is here too and we can call it a day afterwards."

"We'll still have the snatchers and Myotismon himself to deal with once we're done here," Tai reminded him. "But for now, lets just focus on the task at hand. We need to find a way inside."

But that was easier said than done. They walked all along the outside of the tower, but found no doors or windows. At least none they could fit through. Higher up, no more than a few inches wide, small spaces allowed for a pair of eyes to peer through, and they settle on the group.

Upon finishing circling around the tower, they ended up back where they started. "I don't get it," Takato muttered. "Is there a secret passage? How do the snatchers get in and out?"

Kari tapped her chin, looking up. "Well, LadyDevimon can fly, right? The entrance is probably at the top of the tower. It makes it harder for anyone to escape, and for anyone to come to the rescue."

Davis looked up. "So, what? We climb up?"

"Of course not," Tai grumbled. "We'll fly up. Chances are we'll have to Spirit Evolve inside anyway."

Shoutmon held out his hand. "Wait, I have an idea."

He motioned for them to follow. They followed the stream that had led them here, discovering that it ran under the tower. Shoutmon indicated that they should wait and dove in. The teens waited nervously for their friend to come back up.

After a while, Davis crouched down, looking at the water. "What's he doing?"

A few bubbles rose up, and Davis leaned in closer. Shoutmon resurfaced, spitting out a mouthful of water, right into Davis' face. "I found another way in. We can sneak in this way without being detected." He blinked. "Davis, why are you wet?"

The boy's eyes twitched. "Gee, I wonder…"

Takuya slapped him over the back. "Well, we're about to get wetter. Here we go!"

He cannonballed in, and Tai sighed. "Can we please try not to alert everyone to our presence?"

One by one, they climbed into the cold water. Shoutmon led them through a tunnel into the tower, having pulled out the bars that blocked the way. Inside, they removed the grate in the floor and climbed into a cold damp room that was very stereotypical for a dungeon.

"This is really cliché," Davis muttered, looking around.

"Be grateful for that," Takato told him as he climbed out of the water. "We'll know what to expect."

Cold and shivering, they made their way down the corridor. It was all more or less the same as the room they had come from wet, cold, and damp.

"Where is everyone?" Tai wondered out loud, his teeth chattering. "We should have run into someone by now. A guard, a prisoner, someone."

Kari was shivering from the cold, hugging herself. "M-Maybe th-th-they're h-h-higher up-p."

She sneezed, and TK wrapped an arm around her for warmth, sharing his body heat. She gave him a grateful smile as Davis looked on in jealousy. "Hey," he snapped, coming between them, "knock off the mushy stuff. We gotta stay focused. Here, Kari, you can wear my jacket."

He started taking off his soaking wet flame-patterned jacket, but she held up a hand to stop him. "T-Th-Thanks, Davis, b-but that will only m-m-make things w-worse since it's w-wet."

Shoutmon rolled his eyes. "You humans are so susceptible to the elements." He created a flame, and the teens quickly gathered around to dry off and get warm.

"I can't believe Myotismon keeps Digimon here," TK muttered. "It's cold, wet, dirty. I can see why they wouldn't last long, especially after having been repeatedly drained of blood."

Shoutmon nodded. "Yes, Myotismon is one of the cruelest and most evil of all Digimon."

"That's why we have to stop him," Davis replied. "We'll teach him not to be such a creep."

"I doubt that," the little pink rodent beside him muttered as it warmed its hands by the fire. "Myotismon is too strong."

"Well," said Takato, "we've come this far. If we turn back now, we'll… AH!"

He wasn't the only one to cry out. The other teens and Shoutmon sis as well, jumped away from the ugly mouse Digimon that had somehow joined them without their knowing.

Looking up at them, the newcomer blinked. "Hey, what'd you take away the fire for? It felt nice."

"And just who are you?" Tai demanded cautiously.

TK checked his Digivice. "Chuumon, a Rookie level mouse Digimon, special attack _Cheese Bomb_. _"_

"And don't you forget it," Chuumon declared proudly.

Kari stared at him. "What are you doing here?"

The mouse Digimon cocked his head to the side. "I could ask you the same question. What are a couple of… whatever you are and a Shoutmon doing in the sewers of Myotismon's dungeon?"

Takato made a face. "The sewers? We were just in the sewers? Really? Oh, man…"

"Hey, buddy," Shoutmon growled poking the mouse Digimon, "I'm not just a Shoutmon, I'm _thee_ Shoutmon, as in the Digimon King, and these are my human servants."

"Your what now?" Davis asked.

"Just go with it," the dragon Digimon whispered. "We came here to free the prisoners and save our friend. Why are _you_ here? I thought your kind usually buddied up with Sukamon."

"Oh, I live here," Chuumon replied. "No talking yellow piece of poop for me. I go it solo."

Tai blinked. "What? Talking yellow…? Did I miss something?"

"Focus," Shoutmon told him, and turned back to the mouse Digimon. "Why would you live here? Seems kind of risky. What if you're caught?"

Chuumon just laughed and waved it off. "Please, I'm much too small and fast. This place has countless small spaces where I can hide. I can get through so many places that no one else here can."

Takuya's eyes lit up. "Then you must know your way around here pretty well. We're trying to find our friend, Cutemon."

"Cutemon?"

Tai nodded. "Yeah, have you seen her? She was taken by the snatchers a few days ago."

"She may not be here though," Shoutmon added. "Myotismon would probably keep her with him to force her to heal his victims after he's fed off them."

"And by the way," TK added. "Where are all the guards and prisoners?"

Chuumon crossed his arms. "Well, the prisoners are a few floors up, and there's only one guard, albeit a powerful one. As for Cutemon, yes, she is here, but she's kept separate from the others." He motioned for them to follow. "Come on, I'll take you to her."

He hurried over to the wall and squeezed between a small space. The teens sweat-dropped, unable to follow. Chuumon seemed to realize this and came back. "Sorry, I guess you're too big to fit through there. We'll have to take the direct route."

The teens shared uncertain looks, then glanced at Shoutmon. The dragon Digimon just shrugged and followed. The further they walked, the more uneasy they felt as they realized they were out in the open with nowhere to hide, yet they trusted their newfound friend.

"Hey, guys," Takato muttered, "you do realize that if anyone comes, we're completely exposed, right? Should we Spirit Evolve?"

Shoutmon looked back at him. "Idiot. If we do that, we'll definitely expose ourselves. Your Digimon forms are too big."

Chuumon chuckled. "Don't worry, since there's really only one way in, the guard pretty much stays by the entrance, except for when he's making his rounds. And when he does," he tapped his big ears, "I can hear him coming."

They continued down the corridor, eventually coming to a spiral staircase. Once they reached the top, they finally came to the holding area. It was one corridor after another, with jail cell after jail cell. Inside were various Digimon, In-Trainings, Rookies, and a few low powered Champions, all chained up. Most were female, all were miserable and weak. None of them even acknowledged the teens more than a glance.

Kari looked around in horror. "This is terrible! The poor Digimon."

Tai glared at Chuumon. "Why haven't you gotten them out of here? If no one knows you're here, couldn't you have stolen the keys, or broken the locks, or something?"

Chuumon motioned to himself. "Have you seen me? I'm small and weak. I'm not risking myself for these guys. It might be cowardly, but it's in my nature. Just be happy I'm helping you guys now."

TK looked around at all the cells and shook his head. "We have to get them out of here. Once she's safe, we can free the others."

"Your friend is right," Chuumon replied. "You don't want a massive prison break on your hands before we save your friend. Especially since she's in a special holding cell."

"Why's she in a special holding cell?" Davis asked.

The mouse Digimon rolled his eyes. "You're the one who said she was special. She's being held at the top, close to where the guard stays, so we'll have to be extra quiet."

Tai sighed. "Alright, lets go."

"Wait," TK told them, and hurried over to one of the cells. He said something to the Digimon inside, and it immediately perked up. Rejoining the others, he said, "I told them that we would be back to set them free once we found our friend, and to spread the word and be ready."

Kari smiled. "Giving them hope. Good call."

Chuumon rolled his eyes. "Lets hold out on hope for now. Be hopeful after we've succeeded." He motioned for them to follow as they made their way higher up the tower, eventually leaving the cells and the now more hopeful Digimon behind.

"Why would they be keeping Cutemon here?" Takuya asked. "There's nothing up here."

"Hmm," Chuumon muttered. "I could have sworn it was this way." He scratched his head. "Hang on, let me go the way I know. Just wait here."

He went over to another space in the wall and squeezed through, leaving the teens alone. There was nothing left for them to do but wait. But past experiences with things in this world had taught Tai to be more cautious, and he began working on a backup plan. And the more he thought about, the stranger things seemed. A frown slowly made its way across his face and he began looking around thoughtfully, his discomfort growing."

Kari took notice and frowned as well. "What's wrong, Tai?"

Her brother tapped his chin. "I'm not sure. Something doesn't seem right."

TK gave him a curious look. "What do you mean?"

"It's too easy. We got inside with no problem, found someone to lead us through the tower, ran into no guards or anyone patrolling the area. Something just doesn't add up."

"Well, maybe Myotismon is just careless," Davis suggested. "Or that arrogant. And looking at those Digimon down there, they didn't seem like they'd be causing a prison riot anytime soon. So maybe too much security isn't needed."

"Chuumon did say there's a guard by the entrance," Takuya pointed out. "So it's not like the place is completely defenseless."

"That in itself is strange," Tai insisted. "One Digimon guarding several others. What happens if they break out? You think one lone guard can stop all these Digimon?"

Shoutmon shrugged. "Depends what level the guard is. If it's an Ultimate, even if there were three times as many Digimon as there are now, they wouldn't stand a chance."

Davis crossed his arms. "You know, the power difference between levels is just plain ridiculous."

"Guess that's why Chuumon never tried to spring anyone from their cells before now," Kari surmised.

Tai's eyes narrowed. "I'm suspicious of that as well. Why the sudden change of heart? Why's he suddenly willing to help them?"

"Because of us?"

"He has no idea who we are, let alone the fact that we can Spirit Evolve. He wasn't even surprised to suddenly have humans appear before him. Doesn't that strike you as a little odd?"

A humph came from around the corner. "You're far too perceptive."

From around the corner, a giant white snake Digimon that seemed to have a purple turtle shell on its head, making it look like a cobra, emerged. Its piercing red eyes stared at the teens hungrily, its forked tongue flicking out to taste their scent in the air.

And riding on its head was none other than Chuumon. "It makes it difficult to lure you into a trap."

 **(A/N: In case you didn't know, Chuumon has a magic voice that allows him to easily trick others. That's right, he totally played them. The chapter title was meant to hint at that. At least Tai figured it out. Not that it did much good at this point. Now they've got to defeat the guard, who I'm sure you can guess who it is based on the description. See how they're going to get out of this mess next time.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** ** _DOT _****in the link(s) below with actual periods.**

 **digimon** ** _DOT_** **wikia** ** _DOT_** **com/wiki/Chuumon**


	36. Chapter 36: Hissy Fit

**(A/N: Aaaand we're back. After being deceived by Chuumon, our heroes now find themselves face to face with Sandiramon. Oops, did you not know that yet? I thought it was obvious enough. Well, you would have found out in the first sentence anyway. By the way, is the pun for the chapter title too much? It's too much, isn't it? But what can I say, I like puns. Occasionally.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Chapter 36: Hissy Fit**

Kari immediately checked her Digivice. "Sandiramon, Ultimate level. His _Venom Axe_ attack can dissolve anything. It says he belongs to a group of Digimon called the Devas, whatever that means."

Shoutmon took a step back. "Devas are a group of 12 different species of Digimon that were originally created from the data of destroyed Digimon. They're meant to represent the zodiac."

Takuya glanced at him in surprise. "You know about the Chinese zodiac?"

"What's the Chinese zodiac?" Davis asked.

"Guys," TK said loudly, "we've got a bigger problem."

Chuumon snickered. "You mean longer. About 60 feet long."

Tai pointed an accusing finger at him. "You betrayed us!"

The mouse Digimon shook his own finger. "Not really. Betraying would mean I was once on your side, but I work Myotismon. You should have read up more about my abilities on that device of yours."

Takato pulled out his Digivice and did just that. "Chuumon is known to use his _Whispered Voice_ and _Tell A Lie_ attacks to speak in a soothing voice to trick enemies and lure them into a network of traps."

"So that's why we found you so trusting," Takuya seethed, furious not just with the mouse Digimon, but with himself for being so easily misled.

Chuumon just chuckled. "Did you think you were the first ones to come in through the sewers, or the first ones I led here? I keep watch for intruders as well as on the prisoners while Sandiramon here guards the entrance, but I was quite surprised when you kids suddenly appeared."

Davis held up his Digivice. "You'll find we're full of surprises."

TK grabbed his wrist. "We can't Spirit Evolve in here; it's too narrow."

"Not for us," Chuumon sneered. "This hallway works perfectly. Get them, Sandiramon!"

" _Treasure Lance!"_ the snake Digimon cried. Opening his mouth, he spat out a lance with a snowflake-like blade coated with poison. The teens ducked as the lance flew towards them. It stabbed into the wall at the end of the hall and remained embedded there, the poison on it melting the stone.

"Yikes," Takato commented, "that guy's breath is killer."

The snake Digimon just laughed. "You don't know the half of it. _Venom Axe!"_

His attack cry was followed by a roar that unleashed a slow moving sound wave. As it travelled down the corridor towards the teens, a layer of the ceiling, wall, and floor dissolved into particles of data.

Tai began backing away, pushing the others back as well as the sound wave got closer, gaining speed. "Back up, back up, back up!"

They fled back the way they came as Chuumon and Sandiramon laughed. It was a close call, but they managed to turn at the end of the corridor before the sound wave flowed over them. When it hit the wall, it and the lance embedded in it completely disintegrated.

"That was close," Takuya breathed.

"And it gave us an opening," Shoutmon declared. "Lets go!"

He hopped through the hole in the wall. The teens looked through it to see it led down to a much more open space that would allow them enough room to move around in their Digimon forms.

"You won't get away!" Chuumon declared as he rode on Sandiramon's head down the corridor.

Tai pulled out his Digivice. "Spirit Evolve, now!" he cried, and leapt through the hole. _"Execute! Spirit Evolution… MetalGreymon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Paildramon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Growlmon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Agunimon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Nefertimon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Angemon!"_

Those capable of flight pulled out of the drop while those that couldn't shook the tower as they landed. Up above, Sandiramon and Chuumon poked their heads out of the hole. They were caught off guard when they found two Ultimate and three Champions rather than five humans.

"Hey, what happened?" the mouse Digimon wondered out loud.

Angemon flew up to the hole. "This happened! _Angel Rod!"_

His staff came down on Sandiramon's head. Chuumon had leapt out of the way in time, but the snake Digimon fell through the hole and hit the floor. Paildramon flew overhead and unleashed his _Desperado Blaster_ attack. Bullets rained down across Sandiramon's body, but the turtle shell protected his head, and Chuumon quickly ducked for cover beneath it.

Sandiramon looked up at the dragon Digimon and spat out a _Treasure Lance_. It flew at Paildramon, who was too slow to react, but was saved as MetalGreymon leapt in the air and cut the lance apart with his metal arm.

Nefertimon whizzed by and fired a large _Rosetta Stone_. It lodged itself in the snake Digimon's mouth, nearly causing him to swallow it. "Let's go!" she cried to the angel Digimon flying along side her.

Sandiramon's red eyes narrowed and he unleashed his _Venom Axe._ The large stone slab in his mouth instantly dissolved, the poisonous sound wave from his roar slamming into the two Digimon as if it were a physical force, and they dropped from the sky, bits of clothes, armor, and feathers dissolving.

" _Vortex Strike!"_ Agunimon cried, using his speed to race over to Sandiramon and deliver a fiery kick to the snake Digimon's head.

Sandiramon grunted and his tail shot out, wrapping around the fire wizard Digimon's waist and lifting him in the air. Growlmon roared and charged, the blades on his elbows glowing to unleash his _Dragon Slash_. Sandiramon responded by swinging his tail, slamming Agunimon into him, and they both crashed into the wall.

Sandiramon chuckled and coughed up another _Treasure Lance_ , wielding it with his tail. MetalGreymon charged at him, and the snake Digimon blocked his attempt to slash him with his lance.

" _Cable Catcher!"_ Paildramon cried, firing his claws.

Sandiramon spat out a second lance, holding this one in his mouth, and caught Paildramon's claws with the snowflake-shaped blade of his lance. The dragon Digimon's body caught up with his extended claws and stabbed forward with his _Sting Strike_. Sandiramon's head moved to the side, avoiding the attack, and Paildramon's lance stabbed into the wall.

Chuumon leapt off the snake Digimon's head and ran up the length of Paildramon's arm to his face. _"Cheese Bomb!"_

His attack found its mark, yet did no notable damage. The dragon Digimon glared at him and retracted his lance. "You're certainly cheeky."

He swatted the mouse Digimon away. Sandiramon acted while he was distracted, pulling back with his lance and stabbing forward, right into the area of Paildramon's gut where his armor was lacking.

"Paildramon!" MetalGreymon cried. He pulled his claw back and moved to strike, but Sandiramon was faster. He thrust the lance he held in his tail into MetalGreymon's face. The metal headgear protected the cyborg dinosaur Digimon, but deep grooves were left behind, the poison burning straight through, causing MetalGreymon to stumble back as it burned.

Showing off, Sandiramon twirled around his lances. The DigiDestined gathered around him, Angemon, Nefertimon, and Paildramon's bodies weak and burning from his venom.

"Never thought I'd see the day where a snake got the better of us," Agunimon grumbled.

"He hasn't," Growlmon insisted. "Not yet. _Pyro Blaster!"_

Sandiramon swung a lance, cutting the attack in half. Nefertimon fired her _Nile Jewelry_ , but the jewels were deflected as Sandiramon twirled the staff in his mouth around. He then threw his other spear at Agunimon, and the fire wizard Digimon flew backwards and slammed against the wall, two of the blades on the lance on either side of his neck, very nearly taking his head off as they buried into stone.

On reflex, the others had looked back at him, and Sandiramon struck, literally. Grabbing the lance out of his mouth with his tail, he bit into MetalGreymon's shoulder and coiled around him. The cyborg dinosaur Digimon roared as the snake Digimon's venomous fangs dug into his flesh.

"Let him go!" Angemon shouted, and struck Sandiramon over the head with his _Angel Rod_. This time though, it came down over the turtle shell, snapping in two.

"Stand back," Paildramon ordered. "Sorry about this, MetalGreymon. _Desperado Blaster!"_

Bullets sprayed across Sandiramon's body, careful to avoid MetalGreymon. The snake Digimon uncoiled just enough to swing his tail, and thus his lance, at the dragon Digimon. Ignoring the burning pain in his stomach from his stab wound, Paildramon caught the lance and struck with his _Sting Strike_ , cutting it in half.

MetalGreymon grunted as Sandiramon squeezed him tighter. "I can't… breathe…"

"Hold on, I got this," Growlmon replied, opening his mouth to fire his _Pyro Blaster_ again.

Angemon recognized the attack as the inside of Growlmon's mouth lit up. "No, don't. It's too risky. You could hurt MetaGreymon."

"Then lets try this," said Paildramon. _"Sting Strike!"_

He moved to stab the snake Digimon, but Sandiramon suddenly retracted his fangs and struck Paildramon, biting his arm to stop the attack. Nefertimon attempted to help, but Sandiramon's tail shot out and wrapped around her, then used the holy beast Digimon as a club to smack first Angemon and then Growlmon.

At a distance, Shoutmon stomped his foot in frustration at the lack of progress his friends were making. "Come on, do something!"

"How about this!"

Agunimon charged at Sandiramon with his own weapon, having pulled out the lance out of the wall to get free. With a battle cry, he jumped up and stabbed it into the snake Digimon's body, careful not to bury it too deep so he wouldn't stab MetalGreymon.

Sandiramon roared, non-venomously this time, and Paildramon was released. His body loosened around MetalGreymon, allowing the chambers on the cyborg dragon Digimon's body to open. "Desperate times, desperate measures. _Giga Blaster!"_

The missiles exploded against Sandiramon's body. MetalGreymon took damage as well, but his metal chest protected him. The same could not be said for Sandiramon, who was blasted off the cyborg Digimon's body, dropping Nefertimon in the process, and slammed against the wall.

MetalGreymon dropped to his knees, using his metal arm to hold himself up. Paildramon and Growlmon went over to him to help him stand, the latter inquiring, "You ok?"

"I'm fine," he replied, struggling to stand upright. "That attack took a bit out of me, not to mention his venom."

Nefertimon got to her feet and shook her head to regain her bearings. Her gaze landed on Sandiramon against the wall. "Looks like you're not the only one. I guess it's true even in the Digital World; a snake's venom can even affect itself if it bites its own tail. Good call using his own lance, Agunimon."

The fire wizard Digimon sweat-dropped. "Um, yeah, that was my plan…"

Paildramon moved in on Sandiramon, wary of his tail. "Looks like that attack did a number on you. Care to surrender?"

The snake Digimon was trembling and seemed pretty out of it. "I can't… hear you… Everything is going… dark…"

"I asked if you surrender."

"Come closer…"

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the cliché of it, the dragon Digimon approached. "Do you surren-"

"Wait, don't!" Angemon cried.

Sandiramon's head shot up. _"Venom Axe!"_

Paildramon jumped back and fired his _Electric Bolt_. It exploded against the venomous roar, and he quickly fired another one. The others attacked as well, unleashing a barrage of different attacks on the snake Digimon. When they finally ceased, Sandiramon toppled over and burst into data. Shoutmon gave a _whoop_ and ran over to absorb it.

Paildramon stared at the place the snake Digimon had been in disgust. "What a creep. Guess he really was a snake in the grass. Good thing I was prepared for something like that."

"Yeah, good thing," MetalGreymon grumbled as he sat down. "I need to rest a bit. That venom really packs a punch."

"That's fine," Growlmon told him. "We can go let the other prisoners out in the meantime."

Agunimon looked at him. "What if there are more guards?"

"I don't think there are," Nefertimon told him, "otherwise they would have joined the fight. That seems to be the only honest thing Chuumon said to us."

Growlmon snarled. "Speaking of Chuumon, where is that rat?"

"Over here," Shoutmon replied, walking over to the mouse Digimon. Chuumon lay on the floor with dizzy swirls in his eyes from when Paildramon had smacked him. Shoutmon glared at him as he produced his mic and probed him with it. "Hey, wake up."

The mouse Digimon blinked. He looked around and quickly jumped to his feet, backing away. "Hey, what happened? Where's Sandiramon?"

Shoutmon pointed his mic at him. "Your slippery friend is gone. It's all over, traitor. We're freeing all the prisoners. Now, the question is, what are we going to do with you?"

Chuumon growled and backed away. "You think you're so tough, picking on a little guy like me! Well, go ahead, take your revenge, you big bully! I won't apologize! I did what I had to do! How else is a weakling like me supposed to get by without relying on someone stronger than him?"

Shoutmon stared at him for a moment before sighing. "You're too pathetic to kill."

He turned and began walking away. Chuumon's features twisted with anger, his fists clenching. "Pathetic? I'll show you pathetic. _Cheese Bomb!"_

Fast as lightning, Shoutmon whirled around, swinging his mic. It slammed into Chuumon, sending him crashing into the wall. Tears appeared in his eyes and a large bump sprouted on his head.

Shoutmon stomped his mic on the floor in a very kingly fashion. "Trying your voice trick on me again? That won't work twice. I think I'll turn you over to the Digimon you've kept imprisoned here. But until then…"

He grinned evilly, and cracked his knuckles. A few minutes later, Chuumon found himself bound in chains and locked in cell as the DigiDestined went about freeing all the prisoners, who would later decide his fate. None of them were aware of the bat with the red letter A on its forehead that had been hanging from the ceiling, watching everything play out. Nor did they see it drop down and fly out the tower.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

The Digimon known as Lalamon gave a pitiful moan, weak from anemia and in pain from the fangs digging into her flesh as Myotismon fed off her. She knew the vampire Digimon had the ability to put her in a trance in order to compel his victims so they wouldn't put up a fight, but seeing as she was unable to resist, there was no need to use his glamor, and he enjoyed causing pain to others anyway.

Finally pulling his fangs free, he dropped the plant Digimon. Another pained groan escaped Lalamon as she tried to get up, but found herself unable to move. Myotismon was a true glutton when it came to drinking blood. If Digimon were capable of gaining weight, he'd undoubtedly be morbidly obese.

"Oh dear," said Myotismon with mock concern, "it seems I got carried away again." He gave a tug at the chain he held, pulling Cutemon forward. "Heal her."

The fairy Digimon looked from Lalamon to Myotismon. If she used her healing powers, then poor Lalamon would continue to be subjugated to the vampire Digimon's hunger, her only reprieve being when he swapped her our for someone else, in which case she would be locked away in his cold damp dungeon until he chose to feed off her again. No, better to let her die. She would have to start her life all over again from scratch, but at least she would be free from Myotismon's evil.

Looking up, she glared at the vampire Digimon defiantly. "No, I won't do it."

A scowl crossed Myotimon's face and he lifted the chain. Cutemon was left dangling in the air, clawing at the cuff around her neck. "What was that?"

"I… said… no!"

An irritated hiss escape the vampire Digimon, but LadyDevimon stepped forward, smiling eagerly. "Allow me, my lord. _Darkness Wave!"_

She touched the tip of her pointy finger to the fairy Digimon's forehead, and Cutemon screamed in agony as her own energy turned to darkness, burning her from the inside out. A smirk grazed Myotismon's face as he listened to her cries. LadyDevimon was smiling as well, her red eyes shining with sadistic glee.

Cutemon didn't know how long it went on for, but LadyDevimon finally removed her finger, and the burning agony stopped. Myotismon dropped her, and she landed painfully on the stone floor beside Lalamon, trembling and breathing heavily.

"Now," he vampire Digimon told her, "heal her, or your suffering will increase tenfold."

She wanted to resist, but couldn't take this torture anymore. So, shaking, she sat up and used _Wound Healing_ on herself; she knew Myotismon would never let her die anyway. She then held her hands over Lalamon, whispering a silent apology. _"Healing Glow!"_

Light flowed over the plant Digimon as Lalamon felt her strength return. The bite mark on her neck healed, and her blood was semi-replenished. It seemed she would not be dying this day after all. That was _not_ a good thing, and it brought a tear to her eye. "No…"

Myotismon smirked. "Yes, my tasty little morsel." He yanked on Cutemon's chain, causing her to gag. "Nicely done, my pet. Perhaps next time you'll comply a little faster."

LadyDevimon placed a hand on his shoulder. "My lord, look."

She pointed up at the bat flying towards them. Myotismon held out his hand to it, and it landed on his extended finger, turning to hang upside-down. "What is it, my little friend?"

He held the bat up to his ear, where it began squeaking at him. The smile fell from Myotismon's face, his eyes widening as it delivered the news to him. "What?"

The bat squeaked some more, and rage filled his eyes. In an instant, the bat was in his hand, and he crushed it into data; he had plenty to spare, and they were part of his data anyway. Not like that which he had just been told was now lost.

LadyDevimon noticed his fury and gave him a concerned look. "My lord?"

In an instant, Myotismon whirled around. There was a stream of red that flashed outward, and Lalamon cried out and burst into data. The vampire Digimon paid her lingering data no mind as his enraged cry echoed through the room. "Duskmon!"

 **(A/N: I always loved the Deva arc of Season 3. It was fun seeing which new enemy would appear. I feel, though, that some of them were underpowered, so I wanted to make Sandiramon a real badass. But even then he was outnumbered and overwhelmed by our heroes. And what about Chuumon? I'll leave his fate up to you guys. So, the teens have freed all of Myotismon's prisoners. Now it's just a matter how defeating him and his two henchmen, and freeing Cutemon. That still won't be easy, so stay tuned to see what happens next.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** ** _DOT_** **in the link(s) below with actual periods.**

 **digimon** ** _DOT_** **wikia** ** _DOT_** **com/wiki/Sandiramon**


	37. Chapter 37: Homesick

**(A/N: Uch, being sick is no fun. Think I caught a cold while participating in Freight Fest at 6 Flags. Anyone every try it before. It's a lot of fun. Can't wait to do it again this weekend. Still managed to get this chapter done though, even with another job. Also, in case anyone is interested, I've also started a new Batman story called _New To The Family_. Everyone loves Batman. But lets get back to this story. For this chapter, w** **e're taking a little break from all the action and fighting to work on some emotional character development in our heroes. Always good to have some of that.** **)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Chapter 37: Homesick**

He had been summoned. He didn't know why, but when his master called, he came. He was informed though that his master was been very angry with him. Duskmon didn't know what he had done to trigger his master's fury, but he fearlessly went to face it.

Upon entering the throne room, he found Myotismon sitting quietly in the darkness. Cutemon was on the floor beside him, sobbing quietly, but Duskmon paid her no mind as he got down on one knee, bowing his head. "You summoned me, my lord?"

Myotismon's eyes seemed to be glowing in the dark. "I am aware that when you become Velgemon that it becomes difficult for you to think straight. However, when you DeDigivolved back to Duskmon, you still retained all of your memories of your time as Velgemon, do you not?"

Duskmon did not see where this was going, but it was not his job to understand, just obey. "Of course, my lord."

Myotismon's claws dug into the stone armrest of his throne. "Then tell me why you believed the humans were dead when they clearly were not."

In his surprise, Duskmon raised his head. "They live?"

"Clearly, otherwise they would not have been able to defeat Sandiramon and free all my prisoners." He slammed his fist on his armrest, breaking off a piece. "Years of gathering livestock, wasted! Tell me, why did you think the humans were dead?"

The demon Digimon lowered his head once more. "Forgive me, my lord. It has already been established that it becomes difficult to think straight when I am Velgemon. I used my _Dark Obliteration_ attack on them while they were in their Digimon forms, after which they reverted back to their human forms and remained unmoving. I have heard that human bodies do not break down into data upon death. As Velgemon, I had rationalized that the loss of their Digimon forms and the unmoving bodies of their human forms meant they had met their end.

"When Shoutmon distracted me, I attempted to dispose of him, and the humans were already forgotten after he was dealt with. When I went back to being Duskmon, I still believed that the humans were dead, and reported as such."

Myotismon glared. He knew Duskmon would never lie to him. It wasn't in his nature; the demon Digimon was as straightforward as they came. He also understood the irrationality of his Velgemon form. If it had been anyone else, even LadyDevimon, he would have killed them for their failure. "You are aware that I fully expected you to restock my blood supply."

"My master, I would have done so without your asking. But first, please allow me to rid you of these humans. I assure you, I will eliminate them this time."

"Not the girl," Myotismon ordered. "I still wish to sample her blood. I don't care how violent and irrational you become as Velgemon. This time you are to bring her to me alive. You will not be forgiven a second time."

"I understand," the demon Digimon replied, rising to his feet. "I will not fail you again."

As he turned to walk away, Cutemon wiped her eyes and looked up at the scowl on Myotismon's face. Turning back to the retreating Duskmon, she sent a silent prayer to her human friends. "Please, my friends, be careful."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Tai watched as several dozen Digimon unleashed numerous attacks upon the tower they had been confined to for months on end. He didn't blame them, he probably would have destroyed it too if he were in their shoes.

Several more attacks were fired upon the base, and the tower finally began to fall. The Digimon scattered as the structure came down and toppled over into a pile of rubble. Chuumon was still chained and locked up in there, most likely crushed beneath all the rubble.

Cheers rang out as Myotismon's dungeon became nothing more than a pile of stones. Several of the Digimon took off after that, eager to put as much distance between them and this place as they could, while others took the time to thank the teens for saving them.

Davis arrogantly rubbed his index finger beneath his nose. "Aww, it was nothing. All in a day's work."

The others looked on with hooded eyes. "I wonder who he loves more," Takato muttered, "his fans, or himself."

"Himself," the others replied instantly.

When the last Digimon finished giving their thanks, Davis addressed the group. "Ok, now we just have to get Myotismon, and we can call it a day."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Shoumton cried. "Back it up a bit. We need a plan of attack."

"How about attack?"

Tai rolled his eyes. "Davis, focus. Now, we know that Myotismon's castle is several miles east from his dungeon. So, lets see if we came from that direction, then we have to go this way."

"Right," Takuya agreed. "I'm guessing it'll take a few days walk from here. That should give us enough time to recover our strength."

Takato sighed. "Great, more walking. When we get back home, we should try out for the track team. We'd be masters at it."

A cloud of gloominess settled across the group at the mention of home. They all missed their friends and families and tried to avoid talking about such things. Takato realized his mistake by mentioning it, and he soon became depressed as well.

Tai looked around at the forlorn expressions on everyone's faces. As the leader, it was his responsibility to take care of the group. So he pushed aside his depression, putting on a determine face. "We'll rest here for tonight. I'll go gather some firewood."

A short while later, they had a nice fire going, courtesy of Shoutmon's _Fiery Fastball_. They sat around the blaze silently, still trying to keep their minds off of thoughts of home.

"Anyone want to sing campfire songs?" Davis asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Kari chuckled. "I'm sure Etemon would have been all for that."

Takuya nudged Shoutmon beside him. "Hey, you're a music based Digimon. Why don't you sing something?"

The dragon Digimon snorted. "I only do rock and roll."

Tai beamed. "You know what would really be good? Some marshmallows. We could make s'mores."

Shoutmon raised an eyebrow. "Some more what?"

The others chuckled. "No," said TK, "he said s'mores. They're made of roasted marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers."

Kari leaned against him and sighed dreamily. "I'd settle for just the chocolate."

The dragon Digimon made a face. "I've never heard of any of those things, but they sound nasty."

Grinning, Davis patted him on the back. "Oh, my little friend, you are so naïve."

"I used to make s'mores with my brother and parents whenever we went camping," TK reminisced with a smile. It didn't last long. "Well, we used to anyway, before my parents split up…"

Kari gave him a sympathetic look and rubbed his back comfortingly. Shoutmon, however, looked confused. "Your parents. That's what you call a mother and father, right? Kind of like what Swanmon and Elecmon do, but they're also the ones that created you?" At TK's confirmed nod, Shoutmon smiled, proud of himself for remembering. "Yeah, your father carried you around in his stomach until he gave birth, right?"

And just like that, the gloom that had settled over the group evaporated as the teens burst out laughing while Shoutmon looked confused.

"You got it backwards," Tai told him, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "The mother's the one that does that."

Shoutmon blinked. "It is?" He scratched his head. "I could have sworn that… Ah! You humans are so complex that it's hard to remember everything."

" _We're_ complex?" Takato exclaimed. "You should see you Digimon from our point of view."

Looking around, Shoutmon saw that they were all of similar mind. "Ah, whatever. All I know is I'm glad I'm a Digimon." He gave TK a curious look. "So, what do you mean your parents split up?"

And the mood was ruined again. The dragon Digimon didn't seem to realize he was bringing up something painful, not understanding the concept. No one answered for several moments. When Tai moved to speak, he glanced at TK, silently asking for permission, but was met with no objection. "He means his parents are divorced."

The dragon Digimon scratched his head. "Divorced," he repeated, trying out the word. "What's that mean?"

TK sighed. Kari took his hand to offer comfort and support, and he gave her a grateful smile. "It means they're not married anymore."

Shoutmon scratched his head again. "Married? Wait, that's what you humans call those that are mates, right? You go through that ceremony thing. A weeding. No, a wedding." He received nods. "So then your parents aren't mates anymore? How does that happen?"

TK just shrugged. "It happens. Sometimes things just don't work out. I ended up living with my mother while Matt ended up living with my father. That's why we have different last names."

Takuya nodded in sympathy. "That's rough, man. My friends Koji and Koichi went through the same thing. They didn't even know they had a twin brother until they met one day. But things eventually worked out between them, and they developed a good relationship."

TK sighed. "Yeah, Matt and I did too. Even our parents share a friendly platonic relationship now. It was a painful experience, but it taught me a lot about family and keeping those you love close to you. I don't intend to make my parents' mistakes. I'll love and cherish my wife always." He glanced at Kari, then looked away, missing when she glanced at him too.

Shoutmon made a face. "It's all so complicated. You humans and your ways don't make sense. I understand having mates, and even having children to an extent since new Digimon can be born from large gatherings of data, but this mother, father, brother, sister, family thing is a foreign concept to me." He looked at the others. "So what are your families like?"

Looks of surprise crossed their faces. While they had spoken of what the Real World was like, Shoutmon hadn't really inquired about their family lives before. Perhaps having TK open up had made him curious, or perhaps he was trying to understand this concept of family that didn't seem to exist in the Digital World, at least not the way it did in the Real World.

"Well," Tai began, "Kari and I live in Odaiba, Japan in Highton View Terrace." He chuckled at the confused look on Shoutmon's face. "It's an apartment complex. An apartment complex is-"

"I know what an apartment complex is," the dragon Digimon interrupted. "We have those in the Digital World too."

"Right," Tai muttered. "Well, it's just the two of us and our parents."

"Don't forget Miko," Kari added with a smile.

"Right, our pet cat." He chuckled. "Can you imagine how he'd react if he saw you as Nefertimon."

"He'd freak out."

Tai smiled, thinking fondly of their family pet. "I'd say we live relatively normal lives. Except for…"

Shoutmon cocked his head to the side. "Except for what?"

Kari immediately knew where he was going. "Our mother's recipes. She's very into cooking healthy. She's always trying out these new recipes, and we're always the test dummies."

Tai shuttered. "They're really bad. We consider ourselves lucky if she burns whatever she's making. I remember one time when Izzy came over and tried some of her recipes…" He shook his head. "The poor guy couldn't leave the bathroom after that for the longest time."

"Ok, that was a little too much information," Takato told him. "So why's your mother so health-conscious?"

Kari smiled sadly. "That's probably my fault. I used to get sick a lot when I was little. I think Mom took to trying to make healthy meals so I would get stronger. Even though I don't get sick anymore, well, you know what they say about old habits."

"Like your whistle," Tai teased.

Her smile became more genuine. "You mean this one?" She reached around her neck and lifted up the necklace that hung beside the digital camera around her neck. Hanging from it was the small gray whistle in question.

Tai laughed. "Yeah, that's the one. There was a time where that was practically the only way you would talk to people."

This was met with laughter from the others, though Shoutmon just seemed more confused at this point. "I don't get it."

Davis stopped laughing and took over the conversation. "Well, at least you guys have good relationships with your siblings. My sister is a real pain. Just because she's six years older than me, she thinks she can order me around. And Mom and Dad always back her up because they think she's _so_ mature. She just likes to boss me around! And she likes going around spreading bad rumors about me! Does that sound like someone who's mature?"

TK sweat-dropped. "I guess that means you don't get along so well."

Davis glared at him, but then grinned evilly. "Hey, she'll be your problem soon. She's adamant about marrying your brother one day."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, she's always bugging her friends about his band since one of them is in the same class as your brother. I mean, no offense, but she won't shut up about him. One time she completely flipped out on me because she had a zit and was afraid of what he would think if he saw her."

Takato was smiling nervously. "Ok, that's a little creepy in the stalker sense. As for me, my parents own a bakery, and we live in the apartment right above it."

Takato's last name suddenly clicked in TK's head. "Wait, you mean the Matsuki Bakery?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah, that's the one. Why?"

TK shook his head. "I just never made the connection, even though I've been there before. They make really good bread there."

His nervous smile returned. "Yeah, that's what we specialize in. I've actually been baking bread for several years now. Sometimes I'll help out if we get really busy."

Shoutmon raised an eyebrow. "So you don't have any siblings?"

Takato shook his head. "No, but I do have a cousin named Kai that I'm pretty close to."

The dragon Digimon tapped his chin. "Cousin, cousin… Ah, that's the offspring of one of your parents' siblings, right?"

Takuya slapped him across the back. "Hey, good job remembering that."

Grumbling, Shoutmon rubbed where he slapped him. "Thanks. And what about you? You got a brother or sister?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah, a little brother, Shinya. We don't get along that well though. He's always such a brat, and Mom and Dad always take his side because he's the baby of the family."

Davis' eye twitched in irritation. "That's a switch."

Takuya chuckled at this, but his smile soon became a frown. "Actually, I really miss him right now. I kinda wish I was back in the Real World to fight with him."

Frowns soon found their way to the faces of the rest of the group as they all thought about and missed their own families. Shoutmon looked at each of them and crossed his arms, thinking about everything they had said. "It's strange. You humans are so different from us Digimon in some ways, yet are so similar in others. I just can't comprehend the whole family thing though."

In another attempt to turn the mood around, Davis gave him a knowing smile. "What about Renamon?"

The dragon Digimon blushed. "I… I don't know what you mean?"

But Davis' words triggered a memory in Kari of something she remembered Shoutmon mentioning a while back. "What about Gumdramon?"

Her question was met with silence. For several long moments, he just stared up at her before sighing and looking up at the night sky. "Gumdramon was a friend of mine. My very best friend. We were very close. Closer than close. If we were human, I'd even say he was my brother."

The teens listened in silence, waiting for more, but it seemed he had nothing more to say on the subject.

"You mentioned that he died," said Takato. "What happened?"

The dragon Digimon's response was quick and sharp. "What do you think happened? He was killed by another Digimon, and all because I failed to protect him. No, worse, because I was too much of a coward to fight. The Digimon was way too powerful, so I ran. But Gumdramon, he was reckless and brave."

He humphed. "Some king I was. I couldn't even save my best friend, let alone the Digital World. Just like now, I had to hide behind someone stronger than me." He looked at the fire, not seeing the blaze, but beyond it, to the future. "I still don't know how I'm going to face him if we ever meet again."

"Why?" Tai asked. "What happened?"

"Just let it go! I… I don't want to talk about it anymore…" He turned away and remained silent. The teens exchanged a few looks, silently deciding to let the subject drop.

"Alright," Tai decided, "we should get some sleep. I'll take the first watch."

Kari stood up. "I'm just going to use the little girl's room first."

Davis jumped up. "I'll go with you!"

"Pervert!" the others cried.

A look of panic crossed his face and he looked at each of them pleadingly. "No, no! I just meant to keep her safe."

"Yeah, right," Shoutmon grumbled.

Kari motioned to the trees. "I'll be fine. I'm just going over there. I'll be back in a minute."

She walked away from the group as they continued to glare at Davis, who was attempting to defend himself. Once hidden behind the trees, she put a little more distance between herself and them. Despite Davis' comment, she didn't think that he or anyone else would bother to peep on her, but she still wanted her privacy.

Finishing her business, she got up from behind the bush. In the darkness, she didn't see the shadowy figure creeping up behind her, but she did hear the _shing_ of a sword being drawn. There was no time to react though as she suddenly felt the blade pressed against her throat.

From out of the darkness, Duskmon's face appeared next to hers. "Greetings, little girl. My master is expecting you."

 **(A/N: Ooh, a cliffhanger. And not just with Kari, but with Shoutmon's story of Gumdramon. Just what exactly happened between him and his best friend, and will they ever meet again. And what about the rest of the group? Will they ever see their families again? What's going to happen? Will Kari be taken to Myotismon? Will her friends realize she's in trouble and rescue her? Find out next time.)**


	38. Chapter 38: From Duskmon to Dawn

**(A/N: Ahhhhhh! What is with me and these cheesy chapter titles lately? Am I just a sucker for puns? Well, ok, yes, I guess I am a bit. Anyway, time to pick up where last chapter's cliffhanger left off.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Chapter 38: From Duskmon to Dawn**

Tai looked towards the trees where his sister had disappeared into. "Boy, Kari sure is taking a long time."

Davis snorted. "Girls _always_ take a long time in the bathroom. You should see how long it takes my sister."

"Davis, that's incredibly sexist," Takuya told him. "…And true," he added as an afterthought as he thought about his own girlfriend.

"Yeah," Tai agreed, "but it's not like we're home where she has a whole makeup set. Actually, Kari doesn't really wear much makeup anyway."

"Well, sometimes it takes a while to go," Takato pointed out.

The older boy made a face. "Thanks for that image."

He waited several minutes more. When she still didn't come back, he got up. "This is ridiculous. Kari, what are you doing? Did you get lost?"

He headed for the trees to find her, leaving the others to drift off by the fire. Sleep was just starting to take hold when Tai came rushing back, waving something in the air. "Kari's gone!"

TK sat up, instantly wide-awake. "What do you mean, she's gone?"

"Just what I said, she's gone! This is all I found." He held up her pink and white shoe. "Something must have happened to her."

Takato stood up. "We don't know that yet. Maybe she just got lost when… Ah, who am I kidding?"

Grumbling, Shoutmon got to his feet. "Figures. We finally get a moment's peace, and one of us goes missing. Guess we won't be getting any sleep tonight." At the sound of Davis snoring, he kicked the sleeping human, partly out of envy. "Hey, wake up!"

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Focus!" Tai snapped impatiently. "We have to find her!"

"Find who?"

TK ignored him. "Maybe I should Spirit Evolve and fly around."

Takato sighed. "You'll never find her in the dark." He pulled out his Digivice. "I'll take care of this. As Growlmon, my nose is better than a dog's. _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Growlmon!"_

The large, red dinosaur Digimon appeared, and Tai motioned to where he found the shoe. "This is where I found it."

"Hmm," Growlmon muttered, sniffing around the area. After a moment, he began growling as he looked back at Tai, his pupils shrinking down to black specks in his yellow eyes. "I've got some bad news. Duskmon has her."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"Let me go, you creep!" Kari demanded as she kicked and punched everywhere she could.

Her blows were ineffective. Duskmon kept walking along, keeping an arm wrapped around her waist. "Be silent. You'll have plenty of time to scream when you meet my master."

She just struggled that much harder. If only she could reach her Digivice, but with his arm wrapped around her waist like that, she couldn't get to it.

With a well-aimed punch, she managed to hit him in the large eye on his shoulder… and felt like she broke her hand. It seemed that Duskmon's eyes either had a protective shell over them, or were made of something a lot harder than what normal eyes were made of.

Reaching up, she managed to grab a fistful of his hair and gave it a yank. That seemed to get some response out of the demon Digimon, but he simply shifted her in his hold so she could no longer reach his blonde locks.

Kari wasn't a fool. She knew that unless she managed to Spirit Evolve, she didn't stand a chance of escaping. When Duskmon had captured her, he had kept his blade to her throat, preventing her from calling out until they were far enough away that her friends wouldn't hear her if she screamed. Fortunately, she had managed to kick off her one of shoes. Hopefully, when she didn't come back, they would find it and realize that something had happened to her.

"Just you wait," she told him stubbornly. "My friends will come for me."

"For their sakes, you better hope they don't. It will give them a little longer to live. Make no mistake, this time I will be sure to finish them off. But you, you will wish for death many times before this is over."

There was an explosion of vegetation as Growlmon came charging out of the trees. "No, you will! _Dragon Slash!"_

He flung a blade of plasma at the demon Digimon, wary of his hostage. Duskmon whirled around and knocked it away with his sword before catching the very blade that had thrown the attack a moment before Growlmon slashed at him with it.

"Kari!" MetalGreymon cried as he and the others, also in their Digimon forms, rushed out of the trees.

"You found me," said Duskmon. "Impressive."

"My nose knows," Growlmon told him, pushing back against Duskmon's blade.

"Then I suppose I'll have to do something about that."

He knocked away Growlmon's blade, then jumped up and kicked him in the nose. He landed a distance away, but the movement caused Kari to shift in his hold, allowing her to grab her Digivice.

"Got it! _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Nefertimon!"_

Much bigger now, she easily broke out of Duskmon's hold and rejoined the others. They stood as one against the demon Digimon, this time determine to take the win.

Duskmon looked at them, regarding their determination with interest. "You should know that you can't defeat me."

"Listen, pal," Paildramon snapped, "we've had a very long night so far. All I want to do is get some sleep, but apparently, you're not going to let us do that. So our only option left is to get rid of you."

Duskmon crossed his blades. "If you can."

He used _Ghost Move_ to teleport to them, appearing above MetalGreymon's head and swinging his blade. MetalGreymon's metal claw came up, blocking the blow, and Angemon flew towards him using _Angel Rod._

Duskmon teleported again, and Angemon hit nothing but air. He reappeared a distance from Growlmon, who proceeded to unleash his _Pyro Blaster_ upon him. Duskmon charged forward, darting around the blast, and slamming into the dinosaur Digimon's gut.

With the breath knocked out of him, Growlmon went down. But as Duskmon leapt away, he lunged forward, chomping down on the demon Digimon's leg. Duskmon raised his blade to strike, but Nefertimon's _Golden Noose_ wrapped around his arm, pulling it back. Paildramon then flew in with his _Sting Strike_ , followed by Angemon attempting to use his _Angel Rod_ again. Duskmon caught the dragon Digimon's lance with his other blade while raising his knee to block Angemon's attack.

" _Deadly Gaze!"_

Beams shot out of his numerous eyes, blasting the Digimon around him. Free from Growlmon's jaw and Nefertimon's lasso of light, he was on the move again. Agunimon charged at him from the other direction, the two set to collide. Duskmon turned his dash into his _Brute Strike_ attack while Agunimon sent out several fire dragons using his _Pyro Punch_.

Duskmon cut through the first fire dragon, and the second, then jumped over the third. He came down towards Agunimon, who leapt back, his collision creating a large crater.

Standing just above the impact sight, Agunimon unleashed his _Pyro Tornado_. Duskmon remained perfectly still as the fiery vortex spun around him, being sure to remain in the center to avoid the flames. When he saw an opening, he jumped straight up and out of the top, only to be hit by MetalGreymon's _Giga Blaster_.

"Nice shot," Paildramon commented. "Now it's my turn. _Electric Bolt!"_

As he fell, Duskmon's center eye on his chest darted to the bolt and fired a beam, canceling out the attack. Doing a flip, he landed on his feet. Growlmon used _Dragon Slash_ followed by _Pyro Blaster_ , but Duskmon knocked the first attack away and cut through the second.

"Too fast," Growlmon noted. "He's too fast for us."

"Lets see if he's too fast for this. _Desperado Blaster!"_

A rain of bullets came down at the demon Digimon. He proved Growlmon right by taking off, Paildramon's attack tearing up the ground around him. Doubling back, he raced towards the dragon Digimon and leapt into the air, ready to slash him. Paildramon fired his _Cable Catcher_ , but Duskmon swatted the wire-claws away and teleported above him, blade raised to cut downward.

" _Mega Claw!"_ MetalGreymon cried.

Duskmon glanced to his left, just short of cutting Paildramon on half, and was struck by the cyborg dinosaur Digimon's metal claw. One of the claws pierced his shoulder and brought him down, the large metal arm pinning him to the ground.

MetalGreymon retracted his arm and slashed at the air with it, using _Powerful Flame_. Duskmon teleported away, avoiding the wave of fire. He reappeared by the edge of the woods, and that's when Shoutmon finally came out.

"Boy, you guys are fast," he wheezed, his hands on his knees. "Too bad you can't stay Digimon all the time."

He apparently didn't see Duskmon, nor did he see him suddenly teleport behind him. Duskmon's foot came down on him, and Shoutmon suddenly found himself being crushed into the ground by the demon Digimon's foot.

"Shoutmon!" Growlmon cried. "Let him go, you big bully!"

"Certainly," Duskmon drawled, digging his foot into the dragon Digimon's back, making him groan in pain. "I'll trade you for the girl."

Nefertimon growled. "What is the big deal with me?"

"Nothing more than the fact that the master wants to sample your blood."

"I'm not a late night snack!"

"And I'm not some useless hostage," Shoutmon grumbled. "I'm the Digimon King!"

Grabbing a handful of dirt, he threw it up in Duskmon's face. The demon Digimon groaned and began rubbing his eyes; apparently, the ones in his head were more sensitive than the numerous other ones on his body.

Agunimon acted while he was distracted. He fired his _Pyro Punch_ , hitting Duskmon in the same place MetalGreymon's claw had stabbed him. He stumbled back, off of Shoutmon, and Nefertimon lashed out with her _Golden Noose_ , pulling the dragon Digimon away. Angemon then used his _Halo Attack_ , drawing a ring in the air. A halo appeared over Duskmon's head, expanded, lowered, and then shrank, pinning the demon Digimon's arms to his sides.

" _Sting Strike!"_ Paildramon cried, racing towards him. Duskmon struggled against the halo as the dragon Digimon came at him. At the last possible moment, he broke free and raised his blades. Paildramon's lance struck and broke through his defense, and Duskmon was thrown backwards. "Who says he's too fast?"

Breathing heavily, Duskmon rose to his feet. He looked down at the skulls that served for his hands, seeing that his left sword had snapped in half from Paildramon's attack, the broken blade resting point first in the ground a distance away.

A growl escaped the demon Digimon as he glared at the DigiDestined. "No more games. It's time to end this."

Growlmon gulped. "Is he going to do what I think he's going to do?"

" _Duskmon Digivolve to…"_

"Yup, he is."

" _Velgemon!"_

The monstrous vulture Digimon that had defeated them before now stood in Duskmon's place. He screeched loudly and took to the air, circling around overhead.

"Ok, guys," said MetalGreymon, "we know what to expect this time. Lets take him down."

Velgemon fired beams from his eyes at them, and Agunimon jumped back to avoid them. "Easier said than done."

Screeching loudly, the vulture Digimon continued to fire at them. They avoided the beams easily enough, but Growlmon couldn't help but notice that he wasn't really even trying to hit them.

Suddenly swooping down from the sky, Velgemon began to draw a circle around them. Growlmon's eyes widened as he recognized the attack that had nearly taken them out. He then realized that he and his friends were all standing together when they had been spread out before. Velgemon hadn't been trying to hit them with those beams, he had been trying to bunch them up so he could take them out with his _Dark Obliteration_. For a creature that lacked intelligence and relied mostly on his destructive killing instinct, that was pretty smart.

It seemed that MetalGreymon had also come to the same conclusion. "Run for it!"

Grabbing Shoutmon, Angemon took the air along with Nefertimon and Paildramon. Agunimon and MetalGreymon made a mad dash for the outside of the circle, but Growlmon chose his exit strategically.

He was cutting it close, but he ran for the starting/ending point of the circle Velgemon had been drawing. As the vulture Digimon came about to close the circle, Growlmon tackled him. The glowing circle disappeared as the dinosaur Digimon bit down on Velgemon's wing, causing the vulture Digimon to screech.

"Great job," MetalGreymon exclaimed, raising his metal claw as he charged towards them. "Now just hold him there!"

Velgemon turned to the cyborg dinosaur Digimon and fired his _Dark Vortex_. MetalGreymon came to a stop, his eyes glowing red, and turned to the others.

"Oh, great," Agunimon grumbled. "Now, MetalGreymon, Tai, just hold on a second."

" _Giga Blaster!"_

Paildramon rushed forward. _"Desperado Blaster!"_

His bullets sprayed against MetalGreymon's missiles. They held them back for a few moments before the two explosives blasted apart. The cyborg dinosaur Digimon blinked the red out of his eyes, immediately understanding what happened. "That miserable, rotten…"

He turned back to the vulture Digimon. It was attempting to fly back into the sky, but Growlmon had chomped down onto his tail, trying to pull him back down, rather unsuccessfully. Growlmon was already being lifted off the ground as the vulture Digimon gained altitude.

Paildramon quickly joined Growlmon, the two managing to pull Velgemon back down. MetalGreymon reloaded and fired another _Giga Blaster_ , this time at the vulture Digimon. Beams fired from his eyes, destroying the first missile, but the second one found its mark.

Velgemon went down, screeching violently. When he tried to rise, Angemon knocked him back down with his _Hand of Fate_. The vulture Digimon's head snapped in his direction and he used _Dark Vortex_ , but Nefertimon fired a _Rosetta Stone_ into the beam's path. Velgemon's beam blasted apart the stone slab, but Angemon was spared from falling under his control.

Rising up, Velgemon flapped his mighty wings. The DigiDestined were blown back by a powerful gust as the vulture Digimon took flight. MetalGreymon fired his _Mega Claw_ , but Velgemon swatted it away with his wing.

In the sky, Paildramon, Angemon, and Nefertimon flew after him. They fired their _Electric Bolt, Beam of Isis,_ and _Holy Shot_ at him, but Velgemon doubled back and flew straight through the attacks, wrapping his wings around himself for cover. He whizzed past the three Digimon unexpectedly and whirled around, firing beams from his eyes at each of them. Their eyes began glowing red as his _Dark Vortex_ took hold, and they turned their attention to their friends.

"Uh oh," Growlmon muttered.

"This is really getting old," Agunimon agreed.

The three flying Digimon swooped down at them from the sky. Agunimon only had time to grab hold of Shoutmon and throw him away from the group before Angemon tackled him, and Nefertimon did the same to Growlmon and Paildramon to MetalGreymon. And as the friends 'fought' amongst themselves, Velgemon was using the opportunity to draw another circle for his _Dark Obliteration_ attack.

MetalGreymon struggled to hold back Paildramon's assault as he watched the vulture Digimon circle around them. "Wake up, you idiot!"

He managed to hit the dragon Digimon upside the head with his metal arm. Paildramon blinked, the red disappearing from his eyes as he realized what he was doing. Spotting Velgemon already halfway done with his circle as Angemon and Nefertimon fought to hold down Agunimon and Growlmon, he quickly assessed the situation. "Sorry about this, guys."

The guns on his hips pointed at the two possessed Digimon. He fired a single bullet from each, hitting both his friends in the head, the impacts bringing them back to their senses.

"Wha…?" Angemon mumbled, his hand going to his head. Whatever had hit him, he was glad for his helmet.

"No time!" MetalGreymon shouted, already on the move. "He's circling, move!"

A quick glance at Velgemon explained the situation, and they made a beeline for the outside of the glowing ring. Velgemon completed his circle and flew up as the dome began to rise and close.

Clamping shut, it erupted in a mighty blast. Velgemon circled around the rising cloud of smoke, remembering in the back of his mind to make sure they were dead this time. His search was interrupted, however, by a _Fiery Fastball_ being thrown at him, and he glanced at Shoutmon.

"Hey, bird-brain!" the dragon Digimon called up to him. "Feeling a sense of déjà vu?"

While he was distracted, Paildramon burst out of the cloud of smoke, his lance extended. _"Sting Strike!"_

Velgemon turned just in time to see the dragon Digimon before Paildramon's lance stabbed into his chest, piercing his black heart. A horrible screech that seemed to be mixed with Duskmon's cry escaped the vulture Digimon as he and Paildramon fell from the sky.

They fell to the ground beside the smoking crater with the dragon Digimon on top, his lance buried deep in Velgemon's chest. "That's for Etemon."

A grumbling escaped the vulture Digimon before he went still and his body dissolved into data. Paildramon stood up and watched as Velgemon disappeared, leaving only the glowing bits of data behind.

"Yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about!" Shoutmon cheered as he ran over to absorb the data before it disappeared. But before he could get to it, the data began flying away from him, and he gave it a confused look. "What, huh?"

It flew up in the sky into what seemed to be a swarm of bats, flowing into it. The swarm came down to where the DigiDestined were and the bats scattered, revealing a Digimon inside. "What a pity," they said, absorbing the last of Velgemon's data. "I thought he had you with his _Dark Obliteration_ , but it looks like you got away in time. I guess he was a failure after all."

Shoutmon yelped and jumped behind Paildramon. The larger Digimon glanced at him before pointing at the newcomer. "Hey, that's Shoutmon's data. We won it for him. Give it back."

Peeking out from behind Paildramon's leg, Shoutmon shook his head. "No, that's ok, he can keep it." He motioned towards him. "Guys, that's him."

Growlmon cocked his head to the side. "Him who?"

A smirk crept up the vampire Digimon's face, exposing his fangs. "You mean you declared war on me without knowing who I am? You humans are even more foolish than I thought." He bowed to them in greeting. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Myotismon, and I am your doom."

 **A/N: Duskmon/Velgemon has finally been defeated. Looks like Paildramon got to take him down after all. But now there's an even bigger problem. Myotismon himself is here, and he just absorbed Velgemon's data, as if he actually needed the power boost. So what now? Are they going to fight? Is this the chance our heroes need to defeat Myotismon? Or did they just step out of the frying pan and into the fire? Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter.)**


	39. Chapter 39: Digital Noseferatu

**(A/N: Alright, I admit it, I couldn't come up with a good title for this chapter. I'll be open to new ones if anyone has any. Another thing, I noticed that all my main villains so far are from Season 1 and 2. Devimon, Dragomon, Myotismon. That was just a coincidence and will change.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 39: Digital Noseferatu**

"Myotismon!" Growlmon exclaimed, his pupils shrinking down to specks.

The vampire Digimon grinned. "Yes, you pronounced it perfectly. Congratulations."

Angemon looked him up and down. "I guess we should have known. He's definitely got the vampire look down."

"Not to mention the bats were a dead giveaway," Nefertimon added.

Myotismon's gaze landed on her. "Ah, you must be female of the group. How lovely. I've been so eager to meet you."

"Hey, back off, creep," MetalGreymon growled protectively.

The vampire Digimon laughed. "How cute, you're trying to be all protective. And it's even cuter to think that you can protect her from me." He licked his lips, his intent clear.

Angemon pointed his staff at him. "Stay away from her, you leech."

"Yeah, and give back Cutemon while you're at it," Paildramon demanded.

He smirked. "Ah, yes, my new toy. She's a spirited little thing. It might take some time to break her."

"You're sick!" Growlmon snarled. "How can you do such vile things?"

"Vile things? Of course it may seem that way coming from the prey, but at the end of the day, a Digimon's gotta eat."

"Don't try and pull that crap on us!" Agunimon snapped furiously. "There's a fine line between eating to survive and what you're doing. You're not just playing with your food, you're deliberately making it a long, slow, painful process cause you get off on hurting others. The things you've done are inexcusable."

Myotismon began clapping. "A very lovely speech. There's just one problem with it. I am the superior one here. You and everyone else are nothing more than insignificant insects. Thus, I can do whatever I desire with you. You're my playthings. If you think you can resist me, then go ahead and try."

"With pleasure!" Paildramon cried. _"Electric Bolt!"_

He fired a bolt of electricity. Myotismon jumped up and began hovering in the air as the attack passed beneath him. Paildramon charged at him, lashing out with his _Sting Strike_ , but Myotismon caught the lance.

"That trick won't work on me. _Blood Punch!"_ His fist glowed red and slammed into Paildramon's face, sending him crashing to the ground. MetalGreymon roared and fired his _Giga Blaster_.

"That won't work on me either. _Crimson Lightning!"_ His wrist slit open and a stream of electrified blood flowed out. He used it like a whip, striking the missiles, causing them to explode. He lashed out with it again, and it coiled around MetalGreymon's neck. Yanking on it, he brought the cyborg dinosaur Digimon to his knees. "Yes, that's where you belong."

"Not before you," Growlmon growled, using the blade on his elbow to cut the bloody whip, causing the red stream to splash into liquid.

Still smiling, Myotismon crossed his arms. "Teamwork will only get you so far. Only power can put you on top. Like this. _Nightmare Wave!"_

He sent out a blast of electricity. Angemon flew in front of Growlmon and used his _Angel Staff_ to block the attack. Myotismon scowled at this. "Nice try, pretty boy, but you can't stop me. _Grisly Wing!"_

From out of his cape, a swarm of bats was unleashed. Surrounded by an evil black aura, they flew towards Angemon, the air rippling and distorting around them. They slammed into the angel Digimon, overpowering his attempt to deflect them, and flowed over him. Angemon cried out and dropped from the sky, the feathers on his wings ruffled and his body covered in numerous wounds.

"Angemon!" several voices cried out as he crashed to the ground.

Myotismon laughed. "Did he think he could resist my power simply because he had the type advantage? What a fool."

Looking away from her fallen comrade, Nefertimon glared at Myotismon with tears in her unblinking eyes. _"Rosetta Stone!"_

Several stone slabs were fired at him, and Myotismon proceeded to destroy them with his powerful punches. Agunimon jumped up onto the flying slabs of stone, leaping from one to the other as he made his way towards the vampire Digimon.

" _Crimson Knuckle!"_ he cried upon reaching his target, making to punch him with a fiery fist.

Myotismon held out his hand. _"Nightmare Claw!"_ Something akin to a black ghostly entity flowed out of his hand and flowed over Agunimon, and he suddenly found himself unable to move. _"Blood Punch!"_

Agunimon was knocked from the sky. Paildramon zoomed in and caught him, and Myotismon was suddenly there. He delivered several more _Blood Punch_ attacks to his head before finishing with an uppercut that brought down both the dragon and fire wizard Digimon.

" _Pyro Blaster!"_ Growlmon cried. Myotismon glanced in the direction of the attack. His body burst into a swarm of bats and disappeared before it hit. Growlmon blinked at the empty space. "Where did he…?"

From beneath his feet, bats materialized, as if emerging from his shadow, and began swirling around him. He slashed at the flying rodents with his claws, unaware of Myotismon rising up out of the ground.

"Growlmon, behind you!" MetalGreymon shouted. _"Giga Blaster!"_

Myotison glanced over his shoulder. The missiles exploded against his back and he went down. The bats dispersed and Growlmon whirled around to face him. _"Growl Claw!"_

His claw came down as Myotismon's hand shot up, catching his claw. He looked up at him, smiling. "That was a nice try, but…"

He swung Growlmon by his arm, throwing him into MetalGreymon. The two went down as Myotismon rose in the air and unleashed his _Crimson Lightning_. MetalGreymon moved to cover Growlmon with his body, crying out as the vampire Digimon's whip of energized blood struck him repeatedly.

"Stop it!" Nefertimon cried. _"Rosetta Stone!"_

Dropping his whip, his hand shot out, catching the stone slab. He crushed it in his grip ad smirked. A moment later, he was right in front of her, his hand shooting out again, this time to wrap around her throat.

"Hello, my dear," he cooed. "Aren't you a delectable morsel?" His other hand came up to stroke her cheek. "I look forward to getting to know you in your human form, in many ways."

She glared at him, but couldn't break his hold. "Don't touch me!"

He chuckled. "Oh, I will be touching you a lot more than this, in ways you can't possibly imagine, doing things you can't possibly comprehend. At least not yet." His eyes locked with hers. "And you will enjoy every minute of it, whether you want to or not. Isn't that right, my dear?"

"I… I…" She stared at him, her mind going fuzzy. It became hard to think straight. Why was she fighting him again? He simply wanted something from her. Her blood. Surely she could spare some…

" _Hand of Fate!"_

Myotismon cried out released her as Angemon's attack hit him from behind. The fog lifted from Nerfetimon's mind and her senses returned. She immediately slammed her forehead into his face and flew away from him.

Clutching his nose, he glared down at Angemon. The angel Digimon was still injured and weak from Myotismon's attack, but he was back on his feet, using his staff to hold himself up. Myotismon turned to him. "You should have just stayed down, angel boy."

He lashed out with his _Crimson Lightning_. Angemon held up his staff, but Myotismon's attack snapped it in half. He repeated the attack, but this time Angemon had nothing to defend himself with.

The electrified blood whip found its mark, but not against Angemon. MetalGreymon had moved his metal arm in its path, defending his friend. He stood over the angel Digimon protectively, and Nefertimon joined him, followed shortly by the others.

Myotismon hesitated, scowling slightly. "I see. United you stand strong, is that it? Well, numbers mean nothing when faced off against overwhelming power. Allow me to demonstrate."

He raised his arms as if to attack. The others braced themselves for whatever was coming. But then, surprisingly, the vampire Digimon lowered his arms. He now looked bothered and irritated, turning to glance upon the horizon.

"Well, you children are in luck. It seems you've been granted a reprieve. But this is not over yet. If you want to rescue your friend, Cutemon, you'll have to seek her out at my castle." He laughed as his body turned into a swarm of bats. "I will see you there."

The DigiDestined looked on, completely flabbergasted as the bats flew off. Why did he retreat? He was winning, or at least had the upper hand.

"What just happened?" Paildramon asked in bewilderment. "Why'd he run away?"

"He's toying with us," Agunimon growled. "He was toying with us the entire time."

"No," Shoutmon said, walking over to them. "Look." He pointed in the direction Myotismon had looked in. Upon the horizon, the sun began to rise. "Myotismon can't stand the sunlight. It weakens and hurts him. He can only come out at night, or stay in the shadows during the day."

Angemon looked at the sun as it bathed the land in light. "I've never been so grateful for a sunrise…" He collapsed, changing back to his human form.

"TK!" Nefertimon cried as she and the others changed back to human form.

No longer in his Digimon form, his injuries had disappeared, but his body was still weak and in pain from the battle. Yet he did his best to put on a brave front. "I'm fine. Just a little tired."

"Tired nothing," Shoutmon insisted. "You took a direct hit from Myotismon's _Grisly Wing_. That's one nasty attack."

"Really, I'm good."

"No one is good with that evil freak running around," Tai growled. "I knew Myotismon was evil, but he's even worse than I imagined. And I thought Devimon and Dragomon were bad."

Davis perked up. "Hey, no worries. Now we know how to beat him. We'll just use the standard Hollywood vampire killing techniques. Sunlight, crosses, holy water, stakes. Doesn't silver do something too?"

Shoutmon waved his arms. "Whoa, whoa, back up. You're getting ahead of yourself. It's true that sunlight hurts him and his power gets cut in half during the day, but none of those other things will help."

Davis frowned. "Not even a wooden stake through the heart?"

The dragon Digimon's mouth dropped open. "That's barbaric!"

"It's how they kill vampires in movies."

"It would kill _anyone!"_

Takuya cleared his throat. "Lets just focus on the sunlight. Now that we know he's only at half strength during the day, we should use that to our advantage and attack when the sun is up."

"At which point I'm sure we'll have LadyDevimon to deal with," Takato pointed out.

Davis just waved this off. "Ah, we can take her now that I can become Paildramon. She can't be worse than Velgemon."

Shoutmon shook a finger at him. "Don't be so sure. Yes, Velgemon was stronger, but he lacked intelligence. LadyDevimon is strong and capable of reason. She'll be tough to beat."

"Lets take this one step at a time," Tai told them. "We still have… um, how long until we reach Myotismon's castle?"

Shoutmon shrugged. "About two days."

"Ok then. We'll take it easy until we get there. Then we'll camp outside the castle until morning and storm the place when the sun comes up. We'll teach LadyDevimon and Myotismon a lesson and rescue Cutemon."

Takato stared at him for a moment before smiling. "Sounds good. I like it."

TK winced as he stood up, and Kari immediately went to support him. "Sounds like a plan. We can work out the details as we go."

Kari gave him a concerned look. "Are you going to be ok?"

He gave her a smile. "Yeah, it's not as bad as Velgemon's _Dark Obliteration_." He checked his Digivice, seeing the image of a Patamon on the screen. "And I still have power."

Takuya gave him a thumbs up. "Excellent. I was worried about that. It seems like ever since we reached the mainland, we've been unable to keep our Digivices powered for long."

Shoutmon crossed his arms. "Hey, I warned you that there would be Digimon that were a lot stronger here than on File Island. And we're still only on the coast."

"That's fine," Tai insisted. "We'll just do what Davis said." He looked upon the horizon. "We'll get stronger as we go along."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

LadyDevimon made her way to her master's chambers. Cutemon was dragged along with her, having been left in the fallen angel Digimon's watch while Myotismon followed after Duskmon. He should have returned by now though; the sun was up.

Taking a minute to pause outside his door, she braced herself to find the human girl in her master's arms, or chained to the bedpost, or something. She was afraid she might tear the girl to shreds on sight if she didn't compose herself.

But upon opening the door, she found both the bed and the room itself empty. Though she was glad the human scum wasn't here, she wondered where her master was. The curtains were open and light filled the room; had her master been here, he would have closed the curtains to keep the room dark. That meant he hadn't returned yet. Surely those human children hadn't defeated him.

"Master…" she whispered, and hurried down the hall. Cutemon gagged as she was dragged along, clawing at the chain around her neck. Turning a corner, she ran into the very Digimon she was looking for. There was a scowl on his face, and he was empty-handed. Had he killed the humans? And where was Duskmon? "My lord?"

"Get out of my way," he snarled, pushing past her.

Cutemon winced at his irritation. As he walked by, he paused and glanced down at her. Before she had a chance to back away, he kicked her into the wall and continued on his way.

LadyDevimon gave the whimpering fairy Digimon a curious look before following her master, dragging Cutemon with her. "What happened, my lord?"

Myotismon didn't even glance at her as he continued on his way. "Duskmon was destroyed."

LadyDevimon stopped in surprise. It took her a moment to process this before she rushed to catch up. "They defeated him?"

"As Velgemon no less. And then they were able to survive against me long enough for the sun to rise."

The fallen angel Digimon's eyes narrowed. "Impossible."

On the floor, Cutemon smirked as she cracked a smile. "I knew it."

"Silence!" She kicked her and looked back at her master. "Surely you must have been holding back."

Myotismon's fists clenched, and he stopped walking. "I was indeed playing with them, yes, but I admit that I was not withholding my power. Those humans are indeed tougher than I thought, though I could have taken them if the sun had not risen. All the same, I hate the fact that I was forced to retreat."

LadyDevimon placed a hand on his shoulder. "Please, my lord, let me go. I will put an end to these little pests."

Despite his discontentment, the vampire Digimon smiled. "That will not be necessary, my pet." His gaze shifted to Cutemon. "Don't forget, I have something they want. Soon they will come to me. And when they do, I shall put an end to them."

LadyDevimon hesitated, wary of bringing up his weakness. "And should they come during the day?"

There was no need for her to worry as the vampire Digimon chuckled. "Well, then I suppose you will get to deal with them after all."

 **(A/N: Ok, so the fight with Myotismon ended in a draw. That at least increases their chances for when the real fight comes. And as Tai and Davis said, they can get stronger on the way. And then there's the sun. They've got a pretty solid plan. Will it work though is the real question. You'll have to wait and see if their plan works, or if all hell breaks loose.)**


	40. Chapter 40: Doors

**(A/N: Ok, when we last left our heroes, they got a taste of Myotismon's power. Overall, they seemed to hold up ok, and that's given them the confidence that they can defeat him. Of course, you know it won't be that easy. So, with our heroes on their way to Myotismon's palace, lets see what';s in store for them.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 40: Doors**

Shoutmon had been wrong. It had taken _three_ days to reach Myotismon's castle. He had blamed it on the teens though, claiming that it was because they moved too slow.

During their time walking, they hadn't come up with any more of a plan beyond storming the castle during the day. Takato had fashioned a cross out of two sticks, hoping it would help, but had discarded it when Shoutmon asked how "the letter T" was supposed to defeat Myotismon.

"This isn't one of your movie things," he reminded them. "Your hollow wood stuff won't help."

"Hollywood," Davis corrected. "It's a real shame you guys don't have movies. Next to soccer and video games, movies and TV are humanity's greatest inventions."

TK sweat-dropped. "Please note that he doesn't speak for everyone."

Shoutmon just waved it off. "I have no idea what he's talking about anyway." He looked up at the castle. Even in broad daylight, it was still eerily creepy. "So, is everyone ready for this?"

Takuya nodded. "As ready as we'll ever be. And we've got the sun on our side."

"Speaking of which," said Davis, "why don't we just demolish the castle from out here? We'll either force Myotismon into the sun, or flatten him inside."

"And Cutemon along with him," Kari pointed out. "We don't have a choice, we have to go in and get her."

Tai looked back at her. "Just one thing, Kari, I think you-"

"Don't say it, Tai. I'm not staying behind. We've had the conversation several times."

"Yeah, but this time is different. Myotismon is _after_ you."

She gave him a knowing smile. "Then it would be better for me to stay with the group rather than staying behind where I can get picked off."

Tai opened his mouth to reply, then closed it again. He repeated this several times, resembling a fish, making the others chuckle. They understood Tai's need to protect his sister, but even though they were walking into danger, they were indeed safer in a group.

"It'll be fine," TK assured him. "I'll watch after her."

"Hey!" Davis cried. "That's my line. I am an Ultimate after all."

"We'll _all_ keep each other safe," Takuya insisted. "Now, lets do this."

Takato was getting pumped. "Yeah, Let's go!"

In his enthusiasm, he attempted to kick the large blood red double-doors open. They didn't even budge, and he ended up hopping on one foot as pain ran up the other one. The others sweat-dropped as the boy's bad judgment killed the mood.

"Nice one, hotshot," Shoutmon grumbled, producing his mic. "Let me show you how it's done. _Bellow Blaster!"_

The door burst open, leading to the dark interior. Shoutmon stepped inside proudly, the teens following behind, Takato limping all the while.

"You know," said Tai, "in hindsight, that probably wasn't a good idea. We probably just alerted everyone in the castle to our presence."

"Then it probably won't matter if we did this," Davis replied. "HELLOOOOO!"

His cry echoed throughout the castle. Several bats dropped down from the ceiling and went flying out the door. The teens ducked down to avoid them as they flew overhead.

"Great job, Davis," Takuya muttered. "They _definitely_ know we're here now."

The boy grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I always wanted to do that."

"Those bats were Myotismon's familiars," Shoutmon told them. "He produces them from his data the same way I produce my mic, or Angemon produces his staff. Keep a look out for any more. They can devour you can carry your energy to their master."

"Thanks for that cheery thought," TK grumbled sarcastically.

When the last of the bats were gone, they made their way further inside. It was a very horror movie cliché type of castle, dark, dreary, all around a very unpleasant place. Further supporting the horror movie stereotype, the doors slammed shut behind them.

"Well, who didn't see this coming?" Davis complained. "Now what?"

"We find Cutemon."

"I'm aware of that, TR. I meant should we split up or something?"

"Didn't we just decide there's strength in numbers," Tai reminded him. "We're all staying together. Now, lets go. We've got a lot of ground to cover before night."

A sinister laughter followed this statement. "It doesn't matter how brightly the sun shines. None of you will be leaving this castle alive."

From up above, something dark fell from the shadows. LadyDevimon came in for a landing, giving the teens a wicked smile.

"LadyDevimon," Tai seethed.

She winked at him. "So glad you remember me. I'll soon have you calling me 'mistress' as I slowly torture you to death."

"Where's Cutemon?" TK demanded.

She pointed at him. "If you want your little friend, then follow me."

Her laughter echoed all around them as she skipped merrily away as if this were nothing more than a game. Disappearing through an open door, her hand came back to motion for them to follow. She was baiting them, they knew it.

"It's probably a trap," Tai guessed.

"Probably," Shoutmon agreed, "but it's also most likely where Cutemon is. It'd be just like her to make this into a game."

"Then lets go!" Davis cried, and ran after her. The others soon followed.

Takato lingered behind a moment, but went after them as well. "Guys, I don't think this is the best idea. Hey, wait up!"

He was the last one through the door, and he nearly ran into the others as they came to a stop. He saw why a moment later. The room they had entered couldn't even be called a room. It was like they were suddenly in outer space. Only it was more… colorful. That was the only way to describe it.

"Um, what just happened?" he asked. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to see the doorway they had come through literally fly away. Or did it fall away? Whatever the case, it sped away from them until it was gone, leaving them stranded in this strange space. "Oh, great, the door flew away."

Takuya looked back to see that the door was indeed gone. "Of course it did. Well, we knew this was a trap."

"The whole castle is probably trapped," Tai growled. "Better to spring the trap we know is there."

"I'm not sure I agree with that philosophy," Shoutmon replied as he tried to swim in the empty air.

Obnoxious laughter reached the teens' ears, and it wasn't coming from Davis. From the depths of space, what appeared to be several purple meteors slowly floated over to the group. "Sorry to burst your bubble, humans, but there was only one trap, and you walked right into it."

Whoever was speaking, it wasn't LadyDevimon. In fact, the fallen angel Digimon was nowhere to be seen. It wasn't Myotismon either. They had never actually heard whoever this was before.

"Are you the one that brought us here?" Tai demanded.

"But of course. You literally walked right into my pocket dimension. How foolish of you."

TK eyed the purple meteors, trying to figure out which one the voice was coming from. "Come out then. Or are you afraid to face us?"

" _Afraid_ to face you? I brought you here so I _could_ face you." One of the meteors spun around to reveal a squid or an octopus-like Digimon with a big nose, wielding a ray gun.

"Hey, check it out," said Davis. "It's Squidward, and he's got a tan."

Shoutmon had no idea what Davis was talking about, but he figured it was most likely stupid and unrelated. "Idiot."

Takato checked his Digivice. "Vademon X, an Ultimate level alien Digimon. Huh, I wonder if they mean alien in the literal sense. It says he's capable of creating pocket dimensions. I guess that's where we are now."

"Indeed," the alien Digimon replied. "I do hope you like it."

Takuya glanced at Takato's Digivice. "What's the X for?"

"It's a rare breed of Digimon," Shoutmon replied. "In this world, there are these bits of data called X-Antibodies. If certain Digimon get ahold of one of them, they can use it to upgrade to a stronger, even more powerful version of themselves. They're called Digimon X. In this case, Vademon has become Vademon X."

Tai sighed. "Just when I was beginning to think that I figured out how things in this world work, something new comes along."

"I told you about it before. It's X-Evolution."

TK considered this. "Is it possible for us to get an X-Antibody?"

"Only about one percent of all Digimon have an X-Antibody," Shoutmon told them. He motioned to the alien Digimon. "We can only get one if he hands his over, or we kill him and take it."

Vademon X laughed. "You have more important things to worry about than my X-Antibody. Or do you not know how to count."

Tai blinked. "Not know how to…?" His eyes widened and he looked at the others. "Hey, where's Kari? KARI!"

His cry echoed through the pocket dimension, but there was no response. In there surprise at suddenly ending up in this strange place, they had been too distracted to notice that she wasn't with them.

"Oh my," Vademon X taunted. "So you finally noticed."

"Where is she?" TK demanded furiously. "What did you do to her?"

"She's perfectly fine, for now. She's still in the castle."

"Send us back!" Tai shouted. "Send us back right now!"

"Or we'll kick your butt," Davis added. His eyes traveled down the length of the alien Digimon's body, noticing that he seemed to lack that particular part of an anatomy. "Figuratively speaking."

Vademon X laughed again. "If you want me to send you back, you'll have to catch me first. Toddle-loo!"

He directed the meteor he was on to fly away, leaving the teens floating in the depths of space.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Kari blinked in surprise and looked around. She was still in the castle, but she was suddenly all alone. The others had vanished upon entering the room LadyDevimon had gone through. Even Takato, who had entered after her, had vanished, and only she remained.

"Hello!" she called, her voice echoing off the walls. "Tai? TK? Anyone?"

Only LadyDevimon's laughter responded to her. "They are beyond your reach now, girl. You're all alone."

Kari glared into the darkness, trying to find the fallen angel Digimon. "I'm not playing your games!"

More laughter. "Oh, but I thought you wanted to save Cutemon. You can't do anything for your friends, but you can still help her."

Kari's fists clenched. "Where is she?"

"Follow my voice, child, I'll lead you to her. Fall too far behind or choose the wrong path, and you'll never find her."

Torches on the walls suddenly ignited, lighting up the room. Kari looked around, spotting three different doors. LadyDevimon had gone through one of them, but she didn't know which one. Now she understood the game the fallen angel Digimon wished to play.

Taking a deep breath, she ran towards the one she thought LadyDevimon's voice had come from. Upon entering the room, more torches lit up, revealing two more doors to different rooms. LadyDevimon's laughter echoed from one of them, and Kari quickly made a dash for it.

And so the game commenced. She followed the sound of LadyDevimon's laughter through various rooms, each one with a different number of doors. Sometimes LadyDevimon made her go around in circles, and she ended up back in the same room more than once. At times her laughter sounded farther away, sometimes closer, yet Kari continued to select the right room time and time again.

She lost count of how many rooms she went through, but upon entering the most recent one, LadyDevimon's laughter ceased. There were four different doors to choose from, but this time the fallen angel Digimon gave no indication of which one was the right choice.

"Leaving it up to chance, huh?" Kari realized. She looked at the four doors. From what she understood, if she picked the wrong one, the 'game' would be over, and she would lose her chance to save Cutemon. Whether that meant LadyDevimon would either kill her or Cutemon, or simply stop trying to lead her to the fairy Digimon, Kari didn't know.

There was no point in dawdling. Choosing at random, she chose the door on the far left. "Luck be a LadyDevimon tonight," she muttered, hoping to find the fallen angel Digimon inside.

The torches lit up to reveal an empty room with a single door, LadyDevimon standing by it. She smirked at Kari and stepped through it into the darkness. Kari took this to mean that the game was either back on or had reached its conclusion. She rushed in and the torches lit, revealing a room with no other doors or windows. What it did have was a certain fairy Digimon chained to the wall.

"Cutemon!" she cried, running to the captive Digimon.

She was asleep, or unconscious, and Kari had to shake her awake. The fairy Digimon blinked a few times and looked up at her. It seemed to take her a moment to recognize the human girl before her. "Kari?"

The teen nodded. "Yes, it's me. The others are here too, somewhere. We came to save you."

Tears crept up in Cutemon's eyes, and she began sobbing. "You're here! You're really here! I heard you were coming, but…"

Kari hugged her. "Of course we came. We wouldn't leave a friend behind."

Cutemon hugged her back, nuzzling into her stomach. "It was so horrible. I'm so happy you're here, but you shouldn't have come."

"She's right," LadyDevimon replied from behind the two. Kari turned around to find the fallen angel Digimon hovering upside-down above the door. She dropped to the floor and slammed the door shut, sneering at the two. "You really shouldn't have come."

Kari stood up, moving in front of Cutemon protectively. "You stay away from her!"

LadyDevimon's grin widened. "It's not her I'm after. The master demands your blood, child. I'm here to spill it."

Kari pulled out her Digivice, ready to activate it. "Tell me where my friends are."

"I told you, they're beyond your reach. But don't worry, I'll be dealing with them once I'm done with you."

"I don't think so. _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Nefertimon!_ I'm ready for you, LadyDevimon."

Cutemon hugged her leg. "You can't fight her. She's too strong."

"Your little friend is right," LadyDevimon taunted. "You couldn't even beat me when you were with your friends."

"Duskmon was with you that time too," Nefertimon reminded her. "And a lot of things have changed since then. My friends and I are stronger now. _Rosetta Stone!"_

The stone slab flew at LadyDevimon. Grinning, she slashed at it, her claws cutting solid stone to pieces. "Clearly not strong enough."

Nefertimon cried out and sped towards LadyDevimon. Smirking, her hand shot out, grasping the holy beast Digimon's face, holding her back. "Like I said, weak."

" _Beam of Isis!"_

LadyDevimon cried out and released Nefertimon as the attack burned her hand. A moment later, she found herself bound by the holy beast Digimon's _Golden Noose_ , and was swung into the wall. Nefertimon then fired several stone slabs at her, the attacks rising up a dust cloud as they shattered against her.

Nefertimon stopped attacking and stared at the obscuring cloud. "Do I still seem weak?"

Mocking laughter emitted from within the cloud and LadyDevimon rose up. "Most definitely." She burst through the rope of light binding her and stretched her arms mockingly. "Thank you for the warm up."

With a growl, Nefertimon lunged at her again. LadyDevimon fired lasers from her eyes, and the holy beast Digimon crashed into the wall. As calm as can be, LadyDevimon strolled over to her. "Your puny little light is no match for my darkness."

Nefertimon glared at her. "We'll see. _Queen's Paw!"_

She fired projectiles. LadyDevimon cartwheeled away as they exploded against the ground around her hands and feet. Nefertimon got up and tried her _Golden Noose_ again. This time it wrapped around LadyDevimon's throat, and she took to the air, pulling the fallen angel Digimon along.

With an irritated hiss, LadyDevimon fired her _Evil Wing_ attack. Nefertimon swerved to avoid the bats as she continued pulling the fallen angel Digimon through the air, slamming her into the wall, ceiling, and floor.

Growling, LadyDevimon dug her feet into the floor and grasped the rope, yanking back on it. This time it was Nefertimon who was pulled back. She used her _Slap_ attack, hitting the holy beast Digimon with such force that she smashed into the ground hard enough to crack the stone floor.

Extending her arm into a spike, LadyDevimon severed the _Golden Noose_ and dropped down beside her opponent, glaring down at her in disgust. "Your magic rope can't bind me. I would have thought you'd learned that lesson by now." Grinning, she pressed the point of her spike into a place where Nefertimon lacked armor. "I guess I'll have to burn it into you. _Darkness Wave!"_

Nefertimon cried out as darkness filled her. Her screams echoed all throughout the castle. Up in her chambers, the holy beast Digimon's cries reached Myotismon's ears, and he smiled.

 **(A/N: What a pickle. Kari is stuck fighting LadyDevimon, completely outmatched, while her friends are stuck in Vademon X's pocket dimension. Things aren't looking good for any of them. Will Kari be able to save herself and her friends, or will the others manage to escape and save her? One thing's for sure, they're running out of time.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _ **DOT**_ **in the link(s) below with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _ **DOT**_ **wikia** _ **DOT**_ **com/wiki/Vademon**

 **digimon** _ **DOT**_ **wikia** _ **DOT**_ **com/wiki/Vademon#Vademon_X**


	41. Chapter 41: Angels and Demons

**(A/N: We left off on a pretty nasty cliffhanger last time. Sorry about that. Well, no, not really, I like keeping people in suspense. This chapter was a lot of fun to write. I hope you enjoy it.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 41: Angels and Demons**

MetalGreymon froze as a terrible feeling overcame him. The others, also in their Digimon forms, raced by in their pursuit of Vademon X, all save one. Angemon came to a stop as well. He didn't know how to explain it, an instinct, a sixth sense, but he could feel it in his heart, and he glanced at the cyborg dinosaur Digimon. "Do you feel something?"

MetalGreymon nodded. "Yes, something's wrong. Something's happened to Kari."

Angemon's grip on his staff tightened. "You're right. She's in trouble. We have to get to her."

"If that blood sucking parasite touches one hair on my sister's head, I'll tear him apart."

Vademon X raced by, drawing the angel Digimon's attention. Angemon glared at him, his teeth clenching down almost painfully. "This is ridiculous. Kari's in trouble, and we're stuck playing 'can't catch me' with this tentacle creep."

Shoutmon, Agunimon, Growlmon, and Paildramon sped past the other two, the Ultimate Digimon pausing to call out to them. "Hey, quit standing around. We have to catch this guy!"

MetalGreymon's eyes narrowed. "Maybe we're going about this the wrong way. Instead of chasing him around like this, lets try some combo moves."

Paildramon's eyes widened with interest. "Ah, I get it. I'll go first. _Desperado Blaster!"_

Bullets flew through the air, cutting off Vademon X's path, and he pulled the meteor he was riding to a stop.

"Now we got him!" Growlmon declared. _"Pyro Blaster!"_

Glaring at the dinosaur Digimon, Vademon X jumped off his meteor just before Growlmon's attack blew it apart. Angemon and Agunimon fired their own attacks, but Vademon X used the other meteors for cover, the floating purple rocks taking the attacks.

"I got this," MetalGreymon growled, lacking onto the alien Digimon. _"Giga Destroyer!"_

He fired his missiles. Vademon X flew through the meteors, swirling around the purple rocks as the missiles followed him. The first one hit a meteor and exploded, the second one getting caught up in the blast and exploding as well. Vademon X was also caught in it and went spinning into space, no longer under the cover of the meteors.

"Now's our chance!" Paildramon cried. "Lets get him."

They flew at the alien Digimon. He glared at them furiously and placed his fingers to his lips, blowing them a kiss. _"Demon's Blown Kiss!"_

Several more meteors appeared and flew at the DigiDestined. They punched, kicked, and blasted their way through the asteroid field, closing the gap between them and Vademon X.

"Fine then. Lets bring out the big guns." He blew them a bigger longer kiss. This time an entire planet appeared. Not an actual planet, but more of a giant model of one, Saturn from the looks of it. And it was over 100 times the size of MetalGreymon, the largest of the group.

The cyborg dinosaur Digimon's hands came up and caught the planet. It hardly slowed down at all. The others joined him, pushing back against the model of Saturn as well. It's speed continued to decrease, but the DigiDestined were pushed back further and further.

Vademon X erupted into obnoxious laughter. "Serves you right for thinking you can beat me in my own dimension!"

MetalGreymon felt like his arms were going to break under the pressure of the planet. He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up. But Kari needed him. His sister was in trouble.

"KARI!"

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Nefertimon grunted as she was slammed into the wall again. LadyDevimon kept a firm grip around her neck as she pinned the holy beast Digimon against the wall. Nefertimon struggled and slashed at the fallen angel Digimon, but LadyDevimon held her at bay.

On the floor, as close as the chain would allow her to get to the two, Cutemon was pleading with the fallen angel Digimon. "Please, don't! Stop hurting her!"

LadyDevimon looked at the fairy Digimon and sneered. "You're just like all the other fools, concerning yourself over others when you should be more worried about yourself."

While she was facing the other way, Nefertimon raised her paw. _"Nile Jewelry!"_

The jewels pelted against LadyDevimon. She grunted as they sprayed against her, her face twisting with fury. "Miserable wretch!" She slammed the holy beast Digimon down to the ground and finally let go of her neck. "You never learn, do you?" She blocked as Nefertimon swiped at her. "Your attacks are powerless against me. All you're doing is pissing me off."

Grabbing her tail, she swung Nefertimon into the air and slammed her down again. She repeated this several times before finally letting go. Nefertimon lay trembling on the floor, and when she tried to get up. LadyDevimon kicked her back down and followed up with her _Bat Blitz_ , the lasers she shot from her eyes sending Nefertimon crashing into the wall.

"Do me a favor," LadyDevimon said as she strolled over to the fallen angel Digimon. "As much as I enjoy inflicting pain, at the rate this is going, you'll end up dead, and my master won't be too happy about that. There's nothing more you can do anyway, so just surrender."

Nefertimon struggled to lift her head. "Yes, there is. _Beam of Isis!"_

LadyDevimon smirked as the beam flew past her. "Is your aim that bad, or are you seeing double in your weakened state?" Placing her foot on Nefertimon's head, she pushed her down and glanced at Cutemon. "You should learn from…"

Her eyes widened. The fairy Digimon's chain was broken. Cutemon had been in the process of sneaking away. Nefertimon's attack hadn't missed her target at all!

Realizing she had been caught, Cutemon squeaked and ran for the door. LadyDevimon leapt toward her, cutting her off as she landed in front of her. Cutemon yelped as the fallen angel Digimon kicked her into the wall, and there she remained motionless.

LadyDevimon looked back at Nefertimon and scowled. "Very clever, child. That was a nice try, but you failed." She walked back over to her. "You're really not going to give up, are you? I would have killed you long ago, but my master wants your blood."

She held out her hand, and it extended into a spike. Bringing it to her lips, she ran her tongue over the sharp end. "I suppose I could simply bottle it, but the master wishes to experience your flesh as well." She chuckled evilly. "I guess I'll just have to make it so you can no longer resist."

She raised her spike and grinned, preparing to strike. Just then, the wall blew open. Whirling around, she watched as the other DigiDestined marched into the room. She was surprised at first, wondering how they had managed to escape from the pocket dimension, for they surely couldn't have beaten Vademon X. But then she saw the alien Digimon in MetalGreymon's jaws and realized she had been wrong.

Her eyes narrowed in disgust at the alien Digimon's failure. "Useless creature. You had one job to do, yet you failed."

"Forgive me," Vademon X pleaded.

MetalGreymon's eyes widened upon seeing his sister lying unmoving against the wall. He carelessly spat out Vademon X and growled at the fallen angel Digimon. "Did you do this to my sister?"

Smirking, LadyDevimon winked at him, waving her spike. "I may have had a hand in it."

The cyborg dinosaur Digimon roared furiously. Vademon X gave a yelp of fright and waved his hand, creating a doorway to his pocket dimension that he crawled through, the special rip disappearing behind him. No one seemed to notice his departure, as the DigiDestined were too enraged, and LadyDevimon was too amused.

"You'll pay for this," Angemon swore furiously.

The fallen angel Digimon laughed. "Oh, please. What are you going to do it about it, angel boy?"

"Not sure what he's going to do," Paildramon growled, "but here's what I'm going to do. _Electric Bolt!"_

LadyDevimon retaliated with her _Stun Whip_ , the two attacks cancelling each other out. "If that's all you're gonna do, this won't be much of a fight."

On the floor behind her, Cutemon crawled over to the holy beast Digimon. "Nefertimon…"

"How can you do this?" Agunimon demanded. "How can you side with Myotismon over your friends, after everything he's done?"

The fallen angel Digimon just snickered. "You couldn't possibly understand. My master showed me the true exquisiteness of the darkness, and the pleasure of pain and suffering."

"She's mad," Growlmon told the others. "Completely mad."

"Well, her madness will be cured when she starts over as a Digi-Egg," Shoutmon replied. "Her choices after that will be her own, but at least she'll have the opportunity for a fresh start. So lets hurry up and put her out of her misery already."

More laughter. "As if you can. You fools can't conquer the darkness."

"Don't be so sure."

The statement came from behind her, and LadyDevimon whirled around to find Nefertimon on her feet, looking much better. "You?!"

"We've faced several evil Digimon that have made that claim," Nefertimon continued, "yet we've always come through in the end."

LadyDevimon still looked confused. "But you were finished. How did you…?" Her eyes widened upon seeing Cutemon behind her. "That little runt! She healed you, didn't she?" In response, the fairy Digimon stuck her tongue out at her. LadyDevimon should have been angry, but instead she smiled. "You will suffer for your defiance. And you, Nefertimon," she licked her lips, "I look forward to beating you down all over again."

"You don't frighten me, LadyDevimon,' Nefertimon told her. "As long as my friends are with me, there is nothing I can't do."

She began glowing brightly. LadyDevimon recoiled from the light, shading her eyes as she looked into it. "What is this? It's not possible!"

" _Nefertimon Digivolve to… Angewomon!"_

The light was gone, and so was Nefertimon. No longer resembling a sphinx, or a beast of any kind, Angewomon stood as a stunningly beautiful angel Digimon. Her new Ultimate form gained the attention of everyone in the room as she stood in all her glory.

"Angewomon," Angemon awed, "you're stunning."

Paildramon blinked and glanced at the male angel Digimon beside him. "Angemon?" He looked back at the newly Digivolved Ultimate. "And Angewomon?" He quickly turned to Shoutmon. "Hey, is there an AngeBabymon too?"

The dragon Digimon gave him a confused look. "What?"

Grabbing him, Paildramon shook him desperately. "Tell me the Veemon Digivolution line has an Ange-something in its code too. AngeDinosaurmon! AngeSoccerPlayermon!"

"Sorry, Paildramon, I'm afraid you just don't have it in you."

LadyDevimon, however, did not seem pleased by this new development. "And you think this will help you?"

"Three Ultimate and three Champions against you," Growlmon pointed out, "I'd say things are looking up."

"No!" Angewomon declared loudly. "This one is mine."

Surprised looks crossed everyone's faces, even LadyDevimon's. The DigiDestined exchanged uncertain looks as a smile crept up the fallen angel Digimon's face.

"Angewomon," MetalGreymon began, "I know you're angry, but I don't know if that's such a good-"

"Almost everything we've gone through since we came to the mainland had been because of me," the angel Digimon told him. "I'm the reason SkullBaluchimon hunted us down. The reason Duskmon attacked us, twice. The reason Cutemon was used as bait. The reason you guys were locked in another dimension. It's all because Myotismon wanted me."

She pointed at LadyDevimon. "And I just spent the past 20 something minutes getting beaten and tortured by this witch. I want to be the one to finish her. I _deserve_ it. We can take down Myotismon together, but this one is mine!"

Her determination radiated out of her, and the others backed down. MetalGreymon was clearly uneasy, but he realized that not even he could deny his sister this right.

LadyDevimon laughed. "My, you've certainly gotten cocky. You think that just because you've Digivolved that you stand a chance? Well, let me tell you something, girly, one Ultimate is not equal to another."

Angewomon's expression didn't change. "I know."

LadyDevimon's face twisted with fury at the insinuation. _"Darkness Wave!"_

" _Bliss of Saints!"_

The ribbon hanging around Angewomon's arms and neck began glowing pink as a rainbow aura appeared around her. The evil power of LadyDevimon's attack was absorbed and neutralized as it flowed into it. Shock registered across the fallen angel Digimon's face that quickly turned to a scowl as Angewomon smirked at her. She flew at the angel Digimon, her hand raised to perform her _Slap_ attack, but Angewomon countered with _Lift Your Spirits_ , her foot striking LadyDevimon and sending her crashing into the wall.

"Whoa," Paildramon muttered, looking at LadyDevimon.

Said Digimon shook her head and turned back to Angewomon. Her arm extended into a spike and she flew at her, lashing out violently. Angewomon maneuvered this way and that, avoiding the spike as LadyDevimon became aggravated. "Hold still, you miserable brat!"

She stabbed forward. Angewomon's hand shot out and caught the spike mere inches from her face. LadyDevimon struggled to pull away, but was unable to. "Let go!"

"I thought you wanted me to hold still."

"Release me!"

Angewomon complied. With a screech, LadyDevimon swung her spike again, and Angewomon's hand came up, striking the fallen angel Digimon with her _Holy Slap_ , a purified version of LadyDevimon's _Slap_. Her red eyes bugged out from the blow, and Angewomon followed up with another _Lift Your Spirits_. It knocked LadyDevimon out of her daze and she shrieked loudly and stabbed forward. Angewomon dodged and LadyDevimon's spike buried into the wall. She struggled to remove it before flying after the angel Digimon.

"Amazing," Growlmon awed. "She's so strong."

"She's an angel Digimon," Shoutmon told him. "They're among the strongest kind of Digimon there are. And she's a Light type to boot."

Paildramon glanced at him. "Er, Light type?"

The dragon Digimon gave him a look of disbelief. "You're kidding? I thought you would have at least known that." He sighed. "There are 10 different types of Digimon. Fire, Water, Earth, Thunder, Wind, Metal, Wood, Ice, Light, and Darkness. Of the 10, Light is the strongest."

"What's the second strongest?" Agunimon asked, getting a bad feeling.

Shoutmon's eyes shifted to the fallen angel. "Darkness."

LadyDevimon seemed to realize that she was getting nowhere and changed her spike back into a hand. _"Evil Wing!"_

A wave of burning darkness in the form of bats flew at Angewomon. The angel Digimon retaliated with her _Divine Kick_. Kicking downward, she burst through LadyDevimon's attack. The fallen angel Digimon jumped back, avoiding the blow, the stone floor cracking beneath her foot.

LadyDevimon sped towards her and struck with her _Slap_ attack. Angewomon met her with her _Holy Slap_ , their hands coming together as if to high-five. A shockwave of holy and evil energy flowed outward, throwing both Digimon back, Angewomon slamming into the wall. Flying backwards, LadyDevimon dug her claws into the floor to stop her momentum. She lashed out with her _Stun Whip_ , sending out an electric shock.

Angewomon shook her head and pointed at the fallen angel Digimon with a finger gun. _"Celestial Arrow!"_

A pair of wings grew out of her glove as an arrow of light appeared in her other hand. She used the wings on her glove like a bow to fire the arrow. It cut through LadyDevimon's attack and pierced her palm. She cried out, grasping her injured hand, and glared at Angewomon, only to be hit with a second arrow in her shoulder.

" _Heaven's Charm!"_ Angewomon cried. She waved her arms outward, sending out a wave of holy energy in the shape of a cross. LadyDevimon shrieked as the attack came at her, and then it was her turn to go crashing into the wall.

"That one had to hurt," Angemon winced. "You think she's down for the count?"

As if to answer his question, LadyDevimon collapsed. It was a reverse situation from when she stood above Nefertimon triumphantly, now she was at the angel Digimon's mercy.

Angewomon walked up to the fallen LadyDevimon. Her opponent looked up at her, seeing the frown on her face. It was a look of… pity? It infuriated her. "How dare you do this to me! You think your better than me? You're nothing!"

Angewomon gave her a hard look beneath her helmet. "LadyDevimon, the only thing I feel for you is disgust and pity. I hope that after you come back, you'll find peace. Hopefully take a different Digivolution route than the one Myotismon forced upon you. Perhaps you can even make peace with Gatomon and the others.

"Never!" LadyDevimon raged, swiping at the air. "I like being evil! Even if you manage to destroy me, I'll seek out the LadyDevimon line all over again!"

"If you do, that's your choice, and I pity you all the more for it; choosing a life of cruelty and wickedness over one of peace." She created another _Celestial Arrow_ and took aim. "But I cannot allow you to continue the way you are. I do hope you'll change your mind after you're reborn. Goodbye, LadyDevimon."

Grinding her teeth together, LadyDevimon screeched and unleashed her _Bat Blitz_ attack. Angewomon jumped back as the fallen angel Digimon fired her attack upward, burning a hole in the ceiling. She flew up and through the hole. Angewomon fired her arrow, but missed as LadyDevimon made her escape.

"Come back here!" she demanded, flying up after her.

"Hey, wait for us!" Paildramon cried as he and the others brought their non-flying friends through the hole after MetalGreymon made it bigger for them.

LadyDevimon raced through the castle, the others following close behind. A few low level Digimon leapt out to stop them, but were quickly dealt with. Pausing at a pair of doors to glance back at her pursuers, she smirked before racing inside. The DigiDestined charged in after her, MetalGreymon once more needing to blast through in order to fit. They came to a stop as they entered. There, standing in the middle of the room with a swarm of bats flying around him was a certain vampire Digimon.

"Well," said Myotismon with a smile, "here we all are."

 **(A/N: We have achieved Digivolution. Angewomon has appeared. The title was a bit of a giveaway, wasn't it? Angewomon was always one of my favorites. And she totally kicked LadyDevimon's ass. It's just a shame she got away. But now they've run into Myotismon. Time for a rematch. But now that they have 3 Ultimates, things are looking up for our heroes. Or do they? Do Myotismon and LadyDevimon have something up their sleeves? Stay tuned to find out. And you know, looking at Angewomon's attacks {see below}, I noticed how… unnecessary some of them are. Like some Digimon have an attack that's a simple punch, or a swipe of the sword. Take Angewomon's** _ **Lift Your Spirits**_ **, it's a simple kick-flip. What's so special about that that it needs a name? The English dub renamed it to make it seem more grand and attack-ish, but even the Japanese name for it,** _ **Holy Kick**_ **, seems unnecessary. But, whatever. I'll be back soon with the next installment. See you then.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **Angewomon's attacks:**

 **Celestial Arrow – ** Forms a bow with the wings on her glove to fire an arrow of divine light. Also known as Heaven's Punishment.

 **Heaven's Charm ****–** Creates a cross of holy light packed with beauty and affection that's used as a shield or an attack. Especially strong against evil Digimon.

 **Holy Air ****–** Creates ring of energy that paralyzes her enemies.

 **Heaven's Cure – ** Heals her allies.

 **Bliss of Saints** **–** Unleashes rainbow light that hurts evil and can absorbs attacks, which she can infuse the energy into her own attack.

 **Saint's Air** **–** Creates a holy tornado.

 **Holy Arrow – ** Attacks with a powerful lightning-strike shot from her fingertip.

 **Lift Your Spirits ****–** Kick-flips upward.

 **Super Jump** **–** Uses a blast of holy power to launch herself into the air.

 **Divine Kick** **–** Jumps up, then kicks downward.

 **Holy Charge Kick** **–** Charges her energy, then delivers a flip kick.

 **Heel of Justice** **–** Delivers a mid-air kick.

 **Angel Wing** **–** Flaps her wings.

 **Holy Slap** **–** Delivers a slap that paralyzes her opponents.

 **Angel Dash** **–** Delivers a sliding kick on the ground.

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _ **DOT**_ **in the link(s) below with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _ **DOT**_ **wikia** _ **DOT**_ **com/wiki/Angewomon**


	42. Chapter 42: No Hollywood Vampire

**(A/N: Happy Thanksgiving Eve everyone. Is that a thing? I'm making it a thing. But enough about that. We've finally reached the start of the climax of the Myotismon arc. Will Three Ultimates and three Champions be enough to stand up to Myotismon? They did a decent job holding their own against him last time, and that was before Kari unlocked her Angewomon form. But don't forget that LadyDevimon is still there. It's going to be interesting. But first, an announcement. I finally managed to get around o watching _Death Note_. I know, where have I been. Great series, and I'm in the middle of writing a one-shot that I plan to post this Friday if anyone is interested. In the meantime, enjoy the next chapter.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 42: No Hollywood Vampire**

"You humans have certainly given me a great deal of trouble," the vampire Digimon told them. Despite his claim, he was still smiling.

"Hey, that's on you, pal," Paildramon argued. "You're the one that kept sending your servants to attack us and kidnap our friends. Speaking of which, where's that LadyDevimon?"

"I'm the one you need to worry about now. You did well to come this far, but your journey is at an end."

He motioned to the group. The bats in the room flew towards them in a massive swarm. MetalGreymon, Growlmon, and Agunimon unleashed streams of fire at the bats, causing them to flew. Angewomon raised her arms and unleashed her _Bliss of Saints_. The bats were drawn into the vortex of light, vanishing within it.

"Ha!" Paildramon mocked. "Not so tough when the sun's out and you're only at half strength."

The vampire Digimon scowled. "My power may be cut in half, but the sun can't help you in here. _Crimson Lightning!"_

The DigiDestined scattered. Leaping into the air, MetalGreymon fired his _Giga Blaster_. Myotismon half skipped, half floated backwards mockingly to avoid the missiles as Angewomon came down at him using her _Divine Kick_. Myotismon's hand shot out, grabbing her ankle before her kick landed.

"I still look forward to tasting your blood, my dear," he told her with a grin.

Angemon flew towards him. "Taste this! _Angel Rod!"_

Myotismon's other hand shot out. _"Nightmare Claw!"_

Angemon froze as a ghostly entity flowed over him. Angewomon retaliated with her _Angel Wing_ attack, knocking the vampire Digimon away with a flap of her wings. It gave the others an opening, and Agunimon leapt onto MetalGreymon's head as he charged in. Paildramon unleashed his _Desperado Blaster_ as Growlmon began flinging blades of plasma.

Flying wildly, Myotismon flew around the spray of bullets. He went to meet the cyborg dinosaur and fire wizard Digimon while out-flying Paildramon's attack and maneuvering around Growlmon's _Dragon Slash_ attacks. MetalGreymon lashed out with his _Metal Slash Revulsion_ , and Myotismon hesitated just long enough for his metal claw to pass by, then delivered an uppercut while using his _Blood Punch_.

Agunimon leapt off MetalGreymon's head as the cyborg dinosaur Digimon was knocked off his feet. As he came down towards Myotismon, he used his _Pyro Tornado_ attack. Myotismon blocked the flaming kick, but could do nothing to stop the fiery tornado from forming around him. Instead, his bats came flying in, wrapping around him in a protective cocoon as the flaming vortex swirled around him.

On the ground, MetalGreymon looked up at the fiery tornado. He took aim and fired his _Mega Claw_. It flew through the tornado of flames, knocking Myotismon out. He slammed against the wall, holding MetalGreymon's claw at bay. Glaring, he used _Nightmare Wave_ , sending his electric attack to the cyborg dinosaur Digimon through his own metal claw.

MetalGreymon cried out as electricity flowed into him. Tossing aside the metal claw, Myotismon used his _Grisly Wing_. The aura of darkness and bats flew at MetalGreymon, but Angemon and Angewomon flew into the attack's path. Using her _Heaven's Charm_ , Angewomon cancelled out most of the attack while Angemon used his _Angel Staff_ to block the rest.

With a snarl, Myotismon pointed towards the two angel Digimon. A swarm of bats dropped down from the ceiling and surrounded them, forming a cocoon similar to how Myotismon had defended against Agunimon's attack.

"No, they'll be devoured. _Pyro Blaster!"_

Growlmon's attack didn't even reach his friends as Myotismon flew into its path and knocked it away with his _Blood Punch_. "You can't stop my swarm." He turned to them. "Now, consume them and bring me their energy!"

" _Angel Wing!"_ Angewomon cried, bursting through the cocoon; both she and Angemon were ok.

"What!?" Myotismon snarled.

"Ha! Serves you right!" Paildramon mocked. _"Electric Bolt!"_

Myotismon turned to the attack. _"Nightmare Wave!"_

The two attacks collided and exploded in the air. Growlmon ran over so he was beneath the vampire Digimon and fired his _Dragon Spine._ Several more bats swooped down, flying beneath Myotismon to take the attack. Spreading out, they made an opening for the vampire Digimon, and he fired another N _ightmare Wave_ down at the dinosaur Digimon. Growlmon fired his _Pyro Blaster_ up, and the attacks exploded, but Myotismon's being the stronger of the two, sent the blast towards Growlmon, knocking him off his feet.

Agunimon landed beside the dinosaur Digimon. "Those stupid bats keep getting in the way of our attacks."

Staying by the opening that had been made in the wall during their entrance, Shoutmon waved to them. "They're his familiars. He creates them from his data."

MetalGreymon was getting to his feet. "With as gluttonous as this guy is with his thirst for blood, he must have had plenty of energy to create them."

"And energy to reclaim," Myotismon confirmed. He held open his cape. "To me, my bats!"

A portion of flying rodents flew up to Myotismon, flying into his cape. He closed it around himself, a satisfied smile on his face. When he opened it again, the bats were gone, and both his hands were pulsing with electricity. _"Nightmare Wave!"_

Electricity flew down at the DigiDestined in all different directions. Only Paildramon, being the only one above the vampire Digimon, was spared from the attack. But it presented an opportunity.

"He's wide open," the dragon Digimon realized. "It's not a stake, but it should still work. Take this, vampire! _Sting Strike!"_

He flew towards Myotismon. Before he could land his blow, there was a shriek from up above, and LadyDevimon dropped down onto him. They fell to the ground with the fallen angel Digimon on top. Laughing sadistically, she began using her _Slap_ attack repeatedly. Paildramon's head snapped back and forth as the blows filled with dark energy struck him again and again.

" _Hand of Fate!"_

LadyDevimon looked up as Angemon's beam came at her. It struck her in the chest, knocking her off Paildramon and slamming her into the wall. Dazed, she stumbled forward, glaring at the angel Digimon furiously.

"Thanks, bud," said Paildramon, hopping to his feet. "Now it's my turn. _Desperado Blaster!"_

His guns rose and unleashed a rapid fire of bullets. They sprayed across LadyDevimon's body and she shrieked, finally collapsing, and the stone wall crumbled on top of her. Paildramon immediately turned his guns on Myotismon. The vampire Digimon held up his cape, the cloth seeming to offer some form of protection until more bats flew down to shield him.

"You're attacks are useless against me," he told the dragon Digimon, although his scowl belittled his words.

"Then how about this!" Angewomon cried, appearing behind him. _"Saints Air!"_

A tornado full of holy energy was unleashed. Myotismon's eyes widened as he and his bats were caught up in it. Angemon appeared on his other side and unleashed his _Omni Typhoon_. A second tornado appeared, the two combining into one massive vortex with Myotismon and his bats trapped inside.

Agunimon rushed to the base of the tornado. "Lets add a third, with a bit of heat. _Pyro Tornado!"_

Flames traveled up the length of the tornado, and it grew larger. The DigiDestined gathered around, watching the flaming vortex until it finally died down. When it did, Myotismon was on the ground with his clothes singed, and all his bats were gone.

Forcing himself to his knees, he gave the DigiDestined a look of hate. "That was pretty impressive. I underestimated you humans."

"You and everyone else," MetalGreymon told him. _"Giga Destroyer!"_

The missiles flew at the vampire Digimon. His expression quickly changed from angry to arrogant as several more bats flew down, shielding him from the blasts.

"More bats?" Paildramon exclaimed. "Those things are really getting on my nerves. Just how many are there?"

Myotismon began laughing as he got to his feet. "How many are there? How many are there?" He raised his hand. "Just take a look!"

The DigiDestined looked up. They hadn't noticed it before, but they saw it now. The entire ceiling was completely covered in bats. Thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, all hanging from the ceiling.

Myotismon laughed again. "As you can see, I have a fair few, and they're all at my beck and call."

He snapped his fingers and the entire ceiling's worth dropped down. The vampire Digimon continued to laugh as they flew around him in massive swarms. The DigiDestined unleashed a barrage of attacks on them, but there were so many that the ones they destroyed did nothing to help.

"There's too many," said Agunimon as he sent a fiery dragon into the swarm. "How are we supposed to fight them?"

"Isn't there a weakness that bats have?" asked Growlmon, trying to remember. "I'm sure I heard of something."

"Forget the bats," MetalGreymon growled. "We have to take out Myotismon. They're all technically a part of him. If we kill him, the bats will disappear." He took aim. _"Mega Claw!"_

He fired his metal claw. The swarm of bats immediately flowed over the flying limb, stopping its momentum, and it fell uselessly to the floor.

"No good," said Agunimon. "Our attacks can't even get near him."

"Too bad the same can't be said for you," Myotismon declared. He motioned towards them and the entire bat colony split into six groups and flew towards a different DigiDestined by the hundred of thousands.

Each warded off their own swarm in their own way, Agunimon unleashing his _Pyro Tornado_ to prevent them from reaching him, Angemon using his _Angel Staff_ to ward them off, MetalGreymon repeatedly leaving a wave of fire in the air with his _Over Flame_ to keep them at away, Angewomon absorbing them into her _Bliss of Saints_ attack, and Paildramon dropping them one after another with his _Desperado Blaster_.

Growlmon had been in the process of keeping the bats bay by firing his _Dragon Spine_ when it came to him. "That's it!"

In his realization, he had stopped attacking, and the bats crashed into him with such force that he was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall.

"Growlmon!" Angewomon cried. Anger twisted her beautiful face. "That does it. _Heaven's Charm!"_

A large portion of the bats coming her way were obliterated. Through the temporary opening she created, she used her _Super Jump_ to launch herself forward with a blast of holy power. Myotismon's eyes widened and he brought up his arms to defend himself just before she hit him with her _Holy Charge Kick_.

He slammed against the wall, getting the wind knocked out of him, and looked to see Angewomon taking aim with her _Celestial Arrow_. She fired and he quickly dodged, yet the attack blasted a hole in the wall. Sunlight poured through the hole, and Myotismon recoiled from it as if burned.

"Did you see that?" Agunimon exclaimed.

"I sure did," said MetalGreymon. "Make more holes!"

Giving up on holding back the bats, the DigiDestined fled from the swarm, firing their attacks against the wall. More holes were created for the sun to shine through, filling the room with beams of light.

"No, not the sun!" Myotismon cried, and for once, he looked afraid.

"Let the sun shine in!" MetalGreymon declared. _"Mega Claw!"_

Several holes were created, and the sunbeams shined through in all different directions. It wasn't long before Myotismon was trapped by the beams of light, leaving him unable to move without flying into them.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Paildramon mocked.

Scowling, Myotismon looked around at the beams of light. Glancing back at the DigiDestined, his snarl became a mocking grin. "Don't be so sure."

He waved his hand and the bats heeded his command. They flew along the wall, covering up the holes that had been made, blocking out the sun. Myotismon chuckled. "It was a nice try, but my bats aren't affected by the sun. Now then, where were we?"

By the door, Shoutmon's claws dug into the stone wall. "That's cheating. Stupid bats."

A large red foot dropped down beside him and Cutemon. They yelped in surprise, having been entirely focused n the battle, and looked up at Growlmon, who still appeared to be dazed.

Shoutmon blinked. "Hey, you ok, big guy?"

He jumped when Growlmon stuck his big claw in his face. "I need your mic."

Shoutmon stared at his hand, then gave him a strange look. "You what?"

"Shoutmon, your mic!"

The dragon Digimon winced. "Ok, ok." He produced it and placed it in the dinosaur Digimon's much large hand.

Without even thanking him, Growlmon ran over to the others. Myotismon looked down at him with a frown, spotting the microphone in his claw. Agunimon glanced at him as well, wondering what he was planning to do. "You got a plan?"

"Their weakness," the dinosaur Digimon replied. "Bats are sensitive to sound. _Howling!"_

Raising Shoutmon's mic to his mouth, he emitted his high-pitched cry. The others recoiled from the sound, covering their ears. Myotismon's eyes practically popped out of his head as his hands covered his own ears, his own pained cry lost amongst Growlmon's howl.

The bats went haywire. No longer organized, they flew about wildly as Growlmon's howl drove them crazy. The beams of light shined through the holes once again, and Myotismon cried out as one burned his hand.

"Good call, Growlmon," MetalGreymon complimented. "Now lets get some more light. _Giga Blaster!"_

He fired his missiles at the wall, blowing a large opening for the sun to shine through. Myotismon wailed as the light flowed over him, unable to command his bats to block out the light.

"Everyone, attack!" Paildramon shouted. His command was not heard over Growlmon's howl, but the others seemed to have come to the same conclusion.

" _Pyro Punch!"_

" _Desperado Blaster!"_

" _Hand of Fate!"_

" _Giga Destroyer!"_

The four attacks hit Myotismon as he writhed in agony. Crying out, he dropped from the sky, landing back in the shadows and out of the sun's rays. Angewomon took aim with her _Celestial Arrow_. Myotismon may not be a Hollywood vampire, but he was about to go down like one.

She released the arrow of light as Myotismon struggled to rise to his feet. It struck him in the chest, knocking him backwards and pinning him to the wall. A stream of saliva flew from his mouth as he cried out, his hand going to he arrow in his chest.

"Nice shot," Angemon complimented, but this too went by unheard over Growlmon's howl.

The dinosaur Digimon, now blue in the face, had finally stopped to catch his breath. He opened his mouth to repeat the attack, but Paildramon covered it. "That's enough. He's down."

Growlmon blinked and looked at the vampire Digimon. It definitely looked like he was done for. The DigiDestined approached as Myotismon cracked open an eye to look up at them. "Come to hear me beg for mercy?"

"Only you would expect that," Agunimon told him. "I'll never understand why there are sick people like you in the world."

Despite the pain, the vampire Digimon smiled. "It's quite simple really. It's fun."

Paildramon made a disgusted face behind his mask. "Ok, this guy is rotten all the way down to his Digi-Core. Lets just finish him off."

"Sounds good to me," MetalGreymon agreed.

There was a blur of movement, and suddenly LadyDevimon was in front of Myotismon. She hissed at them, holding her arms out protectively. "Never! I won't allow it!"

"You're still here?" the dragon Digimon marveled. "I thought I killed you."

She sneered at him. "You fools could never kill me. And I could never allow my master to fall."

"We've got no problem taking you out with him," Agunimon told her. "In fact, I think we should."

LadyDevimon's hand extended into a spike. "You foolish humans have no idea what-"

Her chest suddenly burst open. The DigiDestined cried out in shock as they stared at Myotismon's hand sticking from her torso, having been used like a spear to pierce straight through her.

LadyDevimon looked down at her chest, then glanced over her shoulder at Myotismon. "Master…?"

The vampire Digimon smirked at her. "Sorry, my dear, but your services are no longer required. There's just one more thing I need from you."

He pulled his hand free. LadyDevimon remained upright for a moment before toppling over. Myotismon's bats swooped down and flowed over her. She was lifted into the air as more and more bats surrounded her. Just before she was completely covered, the DigiDestined saw the fallen angel Digimon smile.

"Now, come to me!" Myotismon commanded. The gathering of bats came apart and flew into the vampire Digimon's body. LadyDevimon was gone, completely devoured, and the bats carried her energy to their master.

With an evil chuckle, Myotismon rose to his feet. Angewomon's arrow dissolving as he did so. "It's time my servants aided me in a more constructive way."

He held up his cape, and the bats began piling up on top of him. All throughout the castle, the flying rodents swooped down and consumed any other Digimon around. They carried the energy they gathered back to Myotismon, the pile of bats getting bigger and bigger as they covered him.

Myotismon's laughter rang out from within the pile of bats as a bright light began to shine through. It grew brighter and larger with the more that gathered, consuming the bats and spreading outward.

Shoutmon's eyes widened. "Holy…" Grabbing Cutemon's hand, he dragged her along as he raced over to the others. Jumping onto MetalGreymon's back, he ran up to his head. "We have to go!"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"You want to live? Get everyone outside right now!"

The urgency in the dragon Digimon's voice made it clear how serious this was. "You heard him! Outside, now!"

Ignoring the vampire Digimon, they raced for the hole in the wall. All the bats were glowing brightly now as they continued to pile up. Myotismon's laughter continued to ring out as the last of the bats joined the whole. _"Myotismon_ _ **Mega**_ _Digivolve to…"_

The glowing pile of bats erupted in an explosion of light. The castle blew apart as the light expanded outward, too large to be contained inside. The DigiDestined went flying from the shockwave of the blast and went crashing to the ground as rubble from the castle rained down around them.

The light began to fade, and a massive form of the creature inside made itself known. _"VenomMyotismon!"_

 **(A/N: You had to have known it was coming. It's their first Mega level fight, and it's a whole knew ballgame. They just went from borderline victorious to completely screwed. At least LadyDevimon is gone. No surprise that Myotismon killed her. He has absolutely no issue with taking out his own servants. How will our heroes be able to cope with him at the Mega level? Stay tuned to find out)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _ **DOT**_ **in the link(s) below with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _ **DOT**_ **wikia** _ **DOT**_ **com/wiki/VenomMyotismon**


	43. Chapter 43: Mega Power

**(A/N: Ok, so the chapter title is a little cheesy, but I think it works. Our heroes are now getting into their first battle with a Mega, and it's freakin' VenomMyotismon. Actually, now that I think of it, he was the first Mega the DigiDestied faced in the series too. That wasn't deliberate. Well, lets see how they do.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 43: Mega Power**

The beast that now stood in the wreckage of the castle was larger than anything they had seen so far. Bigger than Devimon when infused with the black gears, bigger than Dragomon when at his full height with his arms raised, nearly as big as a skyscraper back in the Real World even.

The creature resembled Myotismon, for the most part. At least the head did. The rest of the body, particularly the lower half, was that of a demonic beast. Even his facial features were twisted to be more monstrous and demonic. And, worst of all, the sun didn't seem to bother him any longer as he was standing in it unharmed.

"I'm hungry!" he thundered, and began trampling through his already destroyed castle.

Having recovered from being thrown, the DigiDestined put space between themselves and the newly Digivolved Digimon.

"Whoa, what happened?" Paildramon exclaimed.

"What do you think happened?" Shoutmon raged. "He Digivolved to the Mega level!"

"Mega," Angewomon repeated. "That's a Mega?"

"Mega big," MetalGreymon noted. "What is with these bad guys and getting bigger?"

"You know what they say," Angemon told him. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall."

Growlmon's ears drooped. "Yeah, but the bigger they are, the harder it is to knock them over." He glanced at Shoutmon. "Do all Mega Digimon get that big?"

Shoutmon shook his head. "Digimon come in all shapes and sizes. Their level has nothing to do with it. There's even a Mega Digimon that's smaller than me. I told you, things don't work the way they do in your world. Size has nothing to do with it when it comes to power."

Growlmon looked back at the rampaging Digimon. "No, but I bet it helps."

"I'm hungry!" VenomMyotismon raged. He slashed at his castle, sending rubble flying. Some of it came towards the DigiDestined, and they ran out of its path as it rained down round them.

"What's wrong with him?" MetalGreymon asked. "He's completely out of control."

"A Digimon's nature tends to change when they Digivolve," Shoutmon explained. "When Myotismon Digivolved, his Mega form basically exchanges intellect for raw power. In this form, he's nothing but beast with homicidal and destructive impulses."

VenomMyotismon roared again and kicked more of his castle apart. A lone servant Digimon known as Pipismon, who had escaped from Myotismon's bats, took to the air. VenomMyotismon spotted them and his hand shot out, snatching the bat Digimon from the sky. He immediately shoved it into his mouth and devoured it.

"More! More nourishment! More energy!"

Angewomon's hand went to her mouth, and she looked like she was going to be sick. "We have to stop this. Shoutmon, how do we beat him?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "We don't."

Paildramon did a double-take. "What do you mean, we don't?"

The smaller dragon Digimon pointed at the rampaging giant. "He is a _Mega_. We have _no_ chance. Do you understand? Zero, zilch, none, nada. We. Can. Not. Beat. Him. Did I make my meaning plain enough?"

Angemon flew down beside him. "Come on. There must be a way. We've managed to defeat everyone else we've faced. We can beat him too."

Shoutmon shook a finger at him. "All those times you guys have been at the same level. Defeating Dragomon was a hopeless cause until Greymon Digivolved. So unless one of you three," he motioned to MetalGreymon, Paildramon, and Angewomon, "want to Digivolve again, we don't stand a chance."

It seemed VenomMyotismon hadn't spotted them yet as he bent over and began rummaging through the rubble. "Where are you, little humans? Come out and play."

"He's looking for us," Cutemon squeaked fearfully. "We should go."

"We can't just run away," Paildramon insisted. "Shoutmon, realistically, what are our chances?"

"Realistically? Well, on a scale of one to ten, we're… totally screwed. If we're going to even try to stop him, we'll need backup. Come on, maybe everyone back at the village will help."

Growlmon was skeptical. "They didn't even come when it was only Myotismon who was the problem. I doubt they'll come to face him now that he's Digivolved."

"And we don't have that kind of time," Angemon added. "It took us days to get here. Who knows what kind of destruction VenomMyotismon will cause by then. We have to stop him now."

Shoutmon pulled at his pointy ears as he screamed his frustration. "AH! You humans are so stubborn!" He rubbed his forehead. "Ok, if we're going to go through with this, there's a chance that we _might_ not die." He looked at the demon beast Digimon. "VenomMyotismon _just_ Digivolved. When a Digimon Digivolves to a new level for the first time, it takes a while to become acclimated with their new form and for their new powers to develop, so VenomMyotismon isn't at full strength, not to mention we really weakened him when he was still Myotismon.

"Ok, that's a start," said MetalGreymon. "What else?"

"What else?" He rubbed his head. "Um, lets see. Well, like I said, his intelligence is lacking in this form. Not as much as Velgemon, but it's something."

"And the sun," Paildramon pointed out. "We still have the sun."

"For all the good it will do. VenomMyotismon may prefer the dark, but he's not weakened by the sun the way Myotismon was. But our real weapon against him is Angewomon here."

Beneath her helmet, the angel Digimon blinked. "Me?"

He nodded. "You're an angel and a Light type to his demon beast Darkness type. You're his weakness. Angemon too, but he's still only at the Champion level. Not to mention Angewomon is very strong for an Ultimate. Her power actually borders on Mega. I still don't think we can win, but it's better than nothing."

"It's a chance," said Growlmon, "and that's all we need. Shoutmon, you keep Cutemon safe. We'll take down this freak."

With no sign of hesitation, the group charged towards the colossal Digimon. VenomMyotismon was still digging through the rubble, looking for anything and everything he could eat.

"Might as well start off big," MetalGreymon suggested. _"Giga Destroyer!"_

His missiles flew at VenomMyotismon. Agunimon jumped up and landed on top of one, going for a ride. As he and the missiles approached their target, he leapt into the air. The missiles exploded against VenomMyotismon's back, knocking him to his knees, but it didn't seem to do much damage to him otherwise. Agunimon came down, using his _Elbow Drop_ , slamming his flaming elbow into the back of the demon beast Digimon's head. VenomMyotismon grunted, but he seemed otherwise unharmed.

As Agunimon leapt away, the giant Digimon turned towards the DigiDestined, a sadistic smile appearing on his face. "Ah, there you are." He rose to his feet. "I was afraid you had been crushed. I wanted to do that myself."

"You're not crushing anything, VenaMyotismon!" Paildramon declared.

"That's VenomMyotismon. But I'll call you dinner."

"Meal time's over, you glutton," Angemon told him. "We're taking you down."

The demon beast Digimon laughed. "How amusing. Dinner and a show."

"You want a show? Well, watch this. _Hand of Fate!"_

He fired a beam from his hand. It struck and travelled across VenomMyotismon's chest. The Mega level Digimon just snarled and swiped at him. _"Tyrant Savage!"_

Flames filled his hand as his flaming claw struck Angemon, and he sped to the ground like a bullet. VenomMyotismon sneered and lifted his foot to stomp down on the angel Digimon. MetalGreymon ran over and raised his metal claw. VenomMyotismon grunted as he stepped onto the claw, the metal blades piercing his foot. He pulled back and used _Tyrant Savage_ again, sending MetalGreymon flying through the air.

" _Desperado Blaster!"_

A shower of bullets rained across VenomMyotismon's face. He looked up at Paildramon, lifting his hand to block the stinging bullets. The dragon Digimon continued to circle overhead, firing rapidly from his machine guns.

"You're really that hungry? How do you like the taste of lead?" He couldn't help puffing his chest out in pride. "Man, I always wanted to say that."

VenomMyotismon growled. _"Inferno!"_

A stream of fire flew from his mouth. Paildramon cried out in surprise, his speed saving him from being roasted. VenomMyotismon turned his head to follow the dragon Digimon's movements, still breathing fire that Paildramon swerved to avoid. "Hey, guys, it's getting kind of hot here! How about a little help!"

Angewomon landed on the ground in front of VenomMyotismon. Charging up her _Super Jump_ , she unleashed a blast of holy power to launch herself at the demon beast Digimon, slamming into his gut. VenomMyotismon's mouth slammed shut as he grunted, the flames from his attack shooting out from between his teeth, and he toppled backwards. Angewomon immediately flew up to his face as he fell back and unleashed her _Heaven's Charm_. It exploded in his face, and he fell to the ground, his head smoking.

"Guess they really do fall harder the bigger they are," she commented.

Before the smoke even cleared from his face, a stream of fire flew out of the cloud. Angewomon gasped and flew backwards, but was unable to escape the flames completely as nearly half her body got cooked.

"Angewomon!" Paildramon cried, and doubled back. "Play with fire, and you'll get shocked. _Electric Bolt!"_

VenomMyotismon raised his giant hand, blocking the attack. With an evil grin, he swiped at the dragon Digimon. Paildramon flew around wildly in the air, avoiding his reaching hands. On the ground, Growlmon had charged at the demon beast Digimon's furry leg. He wrapped his arms around it as much as he could, pushing back. Frowning, VenomMyotismon looked down at the dinosaur Digimon. He kicked outward, and Growlmon went flying.

"Stop hurting my friends!" Paildramon shouted. _"Sting Strike!"_

With his superior speed, he flew towards VenomMyotismon, stabbing him in the forehead just above his mask. The demon beast Digimon snarled, his hand flying up and grabbing his assailant. Paildramon struggled, but couldn't escape his grip as VenomMyotismon lifted his arm as high as he could.

Paildramon knew what was coming. "This isn't going to end well."

As if the dragon Digimon were a football, and VenomMyotismon had just scored a touchdown, he threw Paildramon to the ground so hard that he went straight through.

A burning sensation going up his leg and backside drew his attention, and VenomMyotismon glanced over his shoulder as Agunimon raced up his body using _Fire Dash_. When he reached the demon beast Digimon's shoulder, he leapt in the air and used _Pyro Punch_ against the side of his head, creating a fiery explosion as the fire dragon erupted against VenomMyotismon's head.

"You annoying pest," he snarled, reaching for the fire wizard Digimon.

Agunimon jumped away from the angry Digimon and was caught by Angemon. They landed beside Shoutmon and were soon joined by MetalGreymon and Angewomon. "You ok?" MetalGreymon asked his sister.

Ignoring the pains of her burns, she nodded. "He's so strong. Our attacks are barely fazing him."

"Hello!" Shoutmon cried. "What part of 'Mega' did you not understand? Did you think he'd be weak?"

A groan came from the hole in the ground a few feet away as Paildramon came crawling out. "Weaker."

They looked back at VenomMyotismon. He was coming towards them, and he looked angry. He didn't see Growlmon running up behind him, nor did he see as the dinosaur Digimon's blades on his elbows began to glow.

" _Dragon Slash!"_ He cut at the tendons in the back of VenomMyotismon's foot. The demon beast Digimon cried out and toppled over. The DigiDestined fled as he crashed to the ground, causing the whole area to shake.

"I'll hold him down!" MetalGreymon cried. He ran around the demon beast Digimon's side. _"Mega Claw!"_

He fired his claw, not at VenomMyotismon, but over him, the claw burying into the ground on the other side, the cable attached to his arm intending to hold him down. This proved to be futile as VenomMyotismon easily rose to his feet. The cable draped over him did nothing to hold him down, and MetalGreymon soon found himself dangling by it in the air.

"Bad idea," he muttered. And it got even worse as VenomMyotismon turned his head to him. MetalGreymon gulped. "Very bad idea."

He retracted his claw as VenomMyotismon breathed fire at him, just barely escaping the flames as he dropped down. Angewomon then slammed into VenomMyotismon's chin with her _Super Jump_ , clamping his mouth shut and causing flames to shoot out his nose.

"Coming in for a landing!" Paildramon exclaimed, flying towards the demon beast Digimon. _"Sting Strike!"_

" _Venom Infusion!"_ VenomMyotismon's tail shot out and stabbed Paildramon. The dragon Digimon's eyes bugged out as he felt something flow through him. He flew back, ripping free of the demon beast Digimon's tail, and clutched his wound.

"That's not fair. I didn't know he could do that with his… with his…" His speech became slurred, and he seemed unable to talk properly. A moment later, his entire body began to spasm. He dropped out of the sky and crashed to the ground, his whole body shaking as if he were having a seizure, his body pixilating and reassembling.

VenomMyotismon laughed as Angemon landed beside the dragon Digimon. "Paildramon, what happened?"

Incomprehensible speech escaped Paildramon as Shoutmon hurried over. "He got hit by VenomMyotismon's _Venom Infusion_. He injected a computer virus into him that's destroying his configuration data and terminating his functions."

The angel Digimon looked back at their nemesis, his helmet hiding his glare. "That's it!" He flew towards the demon beast Digimon, and VenomMyotismon eagerly stomped towards him. _"Hand of Fate!"_

The beam flew from his fist. VenomMyotismon just laughed and threw a punch, his giant fist going straight through the beam and slamming into the angel Digimon, sending him flying.

" _Giga Destroyer!"_ Missiles exploded against VenomMyotismon's side, and he turned to MetalGreymon. He lashed out with his tail, knocking the cyborg dinosaur Digimon off is feet.

" _Heel of Justice!"_ Angewomon cried, kicking VenomMyotismon in the back of the head. He stumbled forward and glared at her. His tail shot out, intending to use his _Venom Infusion_ again. She dodged his stabbing tail and used _Heaven's Charm_ , blasting the demon beast Digimon in the face once again. He blindly lashed out with his _Tyrant Savage_ , his flaming claw swatting her from the sky.

Realizing the danger VenomMyotismon's tail presented, Growlmon ran over and chomped down on it. The demon beast Digimon grunted and lifted his tail up to eyelevel. Growlmon dangled from it by his jaws, but rather than being intimidated, he flung two _Dragon Slash_ attacks in his face.

VenomMyotismon leaned back, avoiding the attacks, but one of the blades still cut his cheek. He snarled at the dinosaur Digimon, swinging his tail downward, and Growlmon crashed to the ground.

"Enough of these distractions," he growled, turning back to Paildramon. "It's time to feed."

The dragon Digimon continued to spasm and pixilate as his body fought the computer virus in his system. VenomMyotismon reached for him, but MetalGreymon hurried over and slashed at his hand. The others came over as well, standing over their friend protectively.

VenomMyotismon's eyes narrowed. "Strength in numbers, is that it?" He grinned evilly. "You fools are just one big target. _Inferno!"_

The DigiDestined recoiled from the stream of fire. They dragged Paildramon away as a wall of fire rose up in front of them from VenomMyotismon's attack. The demon beast Digimon just laughed as they fled. "It's pointless to resist. You're nothing more than weak, insignificant, vermin."

Agunimon tapped MetalGreymon and motioned towards VenomMyotismon. The cyborg dinosaur Digimon nodded and scooped him up, then threw him at the demon beast Digimon. Agunimon sailed over the flames, up at VenomMyotismon, preparing to unleash a _Pyro Punch_. "You're wrong! You're the one who's weak!"

VenomMyotismon's hand shot out, grabbing Agunimon. With a sneer, he stared at the fire wizard Digimon hungrily. "Actually, you're right, I was wrong about something. There is one you're good for; filling my stomach."

Opening his mouth, he shoved the fire wizard Digimon inside. His friends cried out his name as VenomMyotismon's jaws came down. But Agunimon wasn't willing to go down without a fight. Bracing his feet as best as he could, he attempted to keep the demon beast Digimon's mouth open.

"We have to help him!" MetalGreymon declared.

He and Growlmon began firing their _Giga Destroyer_ and _Pyro Blaster_ as Angemon and Angewomon flew around the demon beast Digimon, trying to find a way to get to their friend. VenomMyotismon swiped at them while ignoring the attacks from the other two, all the while trying to close his jaws.

Agunimon's strength was giving out. VenomMyotismon's mouth was slowly shutting. Already he was crouching down while trying to keep his mouth open. He looked outside, seeing his friends still fighting, with the exception of Paildramon, who was writhing on the ground.

"It can't… end like this… Not like this…" By now he had almost folded in half as VenomMyotismon's mouth closed even more. "Can't… give up… We have… too much… to live for… Gotta keep fighting… My friends… need me… Won't quit… NEVER!"

A beam of light shined out of VenomMyotismon's mouth. The demon beast Digimon was forced to spit out his mouthful as the glowing fire wizard Digimon grew larger. VenomMyotismon eyed the shining figure with distaste. "No, not again!"

" _Agunimon Digivolve to… BurningGreymon!"_

 **(A/N: And we have another one, folks! BurningGreymon has entered the game. For all the good it will do. It's still four Ultimates and two Champions against a Mega. Things aren't exactly going in their favor. It's actually rather ridiculous how powerful the next level up is to previous levels, especially Megas. Will our heroes be able to pull off a miracle? Only time will tell.** **)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **BurningGreymon's attacks:**

 **Pyro Barrage** **–** Fires heat-wave energy bullets from the Rudriya Darpaṇa on his arms.

 **Wildfire Tsunami** **–** Sets himself on fire, then unleashes a fiery tornado.

 **Crimson Fanger** **–** Stabs with his Rudriya Darpaṇa.

 **Salamander Glide** **–** Swoops into his enemies.

 **Fire Below** **–** Fires lasers that rival solar heat rays from his Rudriya Darpaṇa at ground.

 **Burning Grey Basher** **–** Covers himself with fire and tackles his enemies.

 **Drago Fanger** **–** Is consumed by a fiery aura in the form of a dragon, then attacks.

 **Tail Whip** **–** Rapidly hits with his tail.

 **Atomic Corona Blaster** **–** _effects unknown._

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _ **DOT**_ **in the link(s) below with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _ **DOT**_ **wikia** _ **DOT**_ **com/wiki/BurningGreymon**


	44. Chapter 44: The Beast Within

**(A/N: We last left off with Agunimon Digivoving to BurningGreymon. Unfortunately, being only an Ultimate, that's not going to be of much use against VenomMyotismon. But hope isn't lost yet. Is it? Lets see how the battle goes from here. Based on the chapter title, if you've seen the first Season, you should have some idea of where I'm going with this.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 44: The Beast Within**

Agunimon's Ultimate form was less humanoid and more beastly. Resembling an armored dragon that looked like it could be either bipedal or walk on all fours, he looked like a force to be reckoned with.

"BurningGreymon," said Growlmon, "that's really cool. And he's a flier."

MetalGreymon looked confused. "But… BurningGreymon?" He glanced at Shoutmon. "But I thought I was the one in the Greymon line."

The dragon Digimon nodded. "Yes, but there are various species in different Digivolution lines that different Digimon can Digivolve into and out of. Remember the MetalKoromon we met in Machine Tower? Well, your In-Training form is Koromon, but you're still completely unrelated. A Digimon can be of the same species as another Digimon without having any connection to the Digivolution line of that species."

The cyborg dinosaur Digimon blinked. "Uh… what?"

"Try not to think about it too much."

VenomMyotismon snarled angrily at the new dragon Digimon, but then he grinned. "No matter. You're just a bigger meal now."

BurningGreymon turned to him. "I'm extra spicy now too, so prepare to get burned. _Wildfire Tsunami!"_

A fiery aura erupted from his body, swirling around like a tornado. It blasted in VenomMyotismon's face, and he stumbled back. BurningGreymon knocked him back further with his _Burning Grey Blaster_ , covering himself in fire and slamming into him. He followed up by punching into his chest repeatedly.

Growling, VenomMyotismon's fists came down on the dragon Digimon. BurningGreymon bounced against the ground and VenomMyotismon kicked him back over to the others. He hopped to his feet, ready to go charging in again, but MetalGreymon placed a claw on his shoulder. "Easy there, hot shot. I know you're feeling pretty fired up because you Digivolved, I've been there, but we're still out of our league."

"I've got an idea," said Growlmon. "Stand by to attack."

He charged forward and unleashed his _Howling_ , forgetting that his howl affected his friends too, thus no attacks followed, as they were unprepared. VenomMyotismon winced against the sound and lashed out with his tail. Growlmon jumped back as it pierced the ground. He slashed at it with his _Growl Claw_ , and the demon beast Digimon pulled it back and smacked the dinosaur Digimon away.

Turning to the others, he unleashed his _Inferno_. BurningGreymon, surprisingly, flew straight into the blaze, spinning around as he used his _Salamander Glide_ , tearing through the flames as he flew at VenomMyotismon. The demon beast Digimon viciously backhanded him, and BurningGreymon skidded across the ground, leaving a deep groove, and remained unmoving.

"This isn't working," Angewomon stated unnecessarily. "We should attack him together."

"Right," MetalGreymon agreed. "You two attack from the air. I'll attack from below."

He received no argument from the two angel Digimon. Firing his _Mega Claw_ , he latched onto VenomMyotismon's body, using his cable to reel himself in while firing his _Giga Blaster_. Up above, Angewomon and Angemon created a massive tornado around the demon beast Digimon by combining their _Saint's Air_ and _Omni Typhoon_ to hold him in place.

VenomMyotismon looked down at MetalGreymon as the missiles exploded against him. Lifting his giant foot, he stomped down on the approaching cyborg dinosaur Digimon, crushing him beneath his heel. MetalGreymon grunted as his metal claw detached from VenomMyotismon's body and reattached to his arm.

The heavy winds from the tornado caused VenomMyotismon to stumble away from the cyborg dinosaur Digimon. He glared at the two angel Digimon and began throwing pieces of his destroyed castle at them.

Angemon and Angewomon swerved about in the air, avoiding and blasting apart the flying rocks. But with her burns, Angewomon was too slow to react as a piece of a wall knocked her from the sky.

"Angewo- oof!" Distracted, Angemon had been hit as well.

VenomMyotismon laughed as he looked down at MetalGreymon. "I guess I'll start with you. It's always good to get some iron in your diet."

"Then eat this! _Desperado Blaster!"_

Bullets showered across him. VenomMyotismon looked up, surprised to see Paildramon flying above him. "I thought I took care of you."

"Take care if this! _Electric Bolt!"_

VenomMyotismon stumbled back as the attack hit him in the face. This gave MetalGreymon time to crawl away, and the gang regrouped. Paildramon landed beside them, looking not only cured of VenomMyotismon's computer virus, but rather refreshed. "You guys ok?"

"We should be asking you that," said Growlmon. "You were in bad shape. What happened?"

Shoutmon motioned to Cutemon. "She happened. She used her healing powers to cure him."

"Not just that," Paildramon added. He made a muscle. "She healed my battle injuries too."

MetalGreymon struggled to his feet. "You think you can heal us too?"

The little fairy Digimon looked hesitant. "Um, I'll try."

Angewomon gave her a smile. "I can help you. I possess healing powers as well." She held out her hand. "We'll combine our powers."

Cutemon shifted nervously and reached up to take the angel Digimon's hand. "O-Ok. _Healing Glow!"_

" _Heaven's Cure!"_ Angewomon cried. A ring of holy energy surrounded her and her friends. Cutemon's own power flowed into it as well, strengthening it further. Injuries began to heal and strength returned as the DigiDestined's energy was restored.

"I don't think so," VenomMyotismon snarled. He lashed out with his tail, but received a paralyzing shock when it entered the ring and he pulled it back with a growl.

Beneath her helmet, Angewomon glared at him. "My power only restores my allies." The ring faded and the DigiDestined stood rejuvenated.

"That was awesome," said BurningGreymon. "I feel great. Why didn't you do this before?"

"I was saving my power for when we needed it," the angel Digimon replied. "Healing others drains my energy."

"Well, we got plenty of it now," said MetalGreymon. "Now lets bring this behemoth down once and for all."

Growlmon growled at the approaching demon beast Digimon. "I'm with you." His ears drooped slightly. "But he just keeps shaking off our attacks. How can we stop him?"

Angemon thought about it. "The same way you beat someone that's stronger than you in the Real World, you outsmart them."

"Outsmart them?" BurningGreymon repeated thoughtfully.

"It's the most effective way to win. And Shoutmon said that VenomMyotismon lost most of his intelligence when he Digivolved anyway, so things are in our favor."

"Ok," said Growlmon. "Then lets think of a plan."

Paildramon raised his hand. "Oh, I know what we can do." The spike on his wrist extended into a lance. "We'll attack him head on."

The others sweat-dropped. Shoutmon cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Um, Paildramon, I believe that kind of defeats the purpose of trying to outsmart him. He's too strong for that."

"Exactly," the larger dragon Digimon insisted. "That's why he won't expect it."

He took off towards the demon beast Digimon while Shoutmon called for him to come back. "No, you idiot! You're not understanding the concept of outsmarting him!"

Paildramon ignored him as he flew towards VenomMyotismon. "Come on you big ugly freak. _Sting Strike!"_

VenomMyotismon's hand shot out and grabbed the dragon Digimon. Paildramon's arm was uselessly extended outward while his other one and his lower body were trapped in the demon beast Digimon's hand.

VenomMyotismon brought the dragon Digimon up to his face and sneered at him. "Did you really think a pathetic Ultimate like you could harm a Mega like me?"

Paildramon glared at him. "It doesn't matter if you're a Mega, some pain is universal. _Cable Catcher!"_

The extendable claws on his hand shot out, stabbing VenomMyotismon in his left eye. The demon beast Digimon released him and grabbed at his face, roaring in agony. "Damn you! _Damn_ you!"

He began stomping around as he grasped his face. Paildramon put some distance between himself and the demon beast Digimon and began firing his _Desperado Blaster_. Still snarling, VenomMyotismon lashed out with his _Tyrant Savage_ , swatting the dragon Digimon away.

"I don't believe it," Shoutmon grumbled, "that idiot actually managed to wound him."

Angewomon smirked. "He's got the right idea. Now it's my turn." She flew up to the raging giant, making sure to keep a safe distance away. Creating a _Celestial Arrow_ , she took careful aim. "VenomMyotismon!"

Still covering his bad eye, the demon beast Digimon glanced at her. She let her arrow fly, and it pierced his other eye. Another pained bellow escaped him and he pressed his other hand to his new injury. "Miserable wench! How dare you do this to me! Damn all you human scum!"

He opened his mouth and began blindly breathing a stream of fire. Angewomon swerved around it and flew past his head. "Serves you right for trying to kidnap me."

With a roar, he began wildly using his _Inferno_ attack. But without his sight, he was literally taking shots in the dark.

"Good aiming," Cutemon complimented as the angel Digimon rejoined them. "The big brute deserved it."

"Hey, it was my idea," said Paildramon as he flew over.

Shoutmon snorted. "Please, you did that in the heat of the moment." He pointed. "Now hurry, attack before he heals!"

"Good call," MetalGreymon agreed. _"Giga Blaster!"_

" _Desperado Blaster!"_

" _Dragon Slash!"_

" _Fire Below!"_

" _Heaven's Charm!"_

" _Holy Shot!"_

The attacks bombarded against VenomMyotismon. He was knocked backwards, falling on the remains of his destroyed castle. But he wasn't down for long. With an angry growl, he climbed to his feet, his eyes shut from his injuries. "You think you actually stand a chance? I'll make sure you pay for what you did to me!"

MetalGreymon snorted. "You villains are all alike. You enjoy causing pain, but don't like it when it's done to you."

VenomMyotismon would have grinded his teeth together if it weren't for his fangs. "You think you know what pain is? Fool! I'll show you what real pain is!"

There was movement in his nether-region. A slit opened up to reveal a pouch-like opening. From it, a large purple head wearing a red eye-mask similar to what VenomMyotismon wore emerged. Small three fingered claws slashed at the air as this second head snarled at the DigiDestined, glaring at them with a pair of perfectly functioning eyes.

"Hey, look out!" Paildramon cried. "His crotch is alive!"

"Puny humans!" the second head shrieked. _"Chaos Flame!"_

A much larger stream of purple fire flew from the second head's mouth. MetalGreymon fired his _Giga Blaster_ at it. VenomMyotismon's attack caused the missiles to explode, but the resounding blast was enough to keep the purple flames at bay long enough for the DigiDestined to put some distance between themselves and the demon beast Digimon.

"Well, that was unexpected," Growlmon grumbled. "Shoutmon, what is that thing?"

The dragon Digimon shrugged. "A second head, duh. It's VenomMyotismon's physical manifestation of 'the beast within'." He used his fingers to make air quotes. "It doesn't show itself that much, but when you blinded his eyes, you forced it out."

"But why is it growing from his junk?" Paildramon asked. "That's not right."

" _Inferno!"_ VenomMyotismon cried, breathing more fire at them. With his second head acting as his eyes, he could tell where the DigiDestined were, but not get a precise location, making it easier for them to avoid his attack.

"No, to the right! To the right!" his second head exclaimed.

MetalGreymon ducked down to avoid the stream of fire. "That _Chaos Flame_ attack was pretty powerful. Why didn't he use it before?"

"Because his second head is his weak spot," Shoutmon explained. "In a sense, it's the 'true' VenomMyotismon that makes up the whole."

The others looked back at the snarling purple head as it waved its claws around. "You should have told us that before!" Paildramon told him. "Come on, let's attack it."

With renewed determination, they flew towards the demon beast Digimon. Paildramon showered it with his _Desperado Blaster_ , but was knocked away by VenomMyotismon's flaming claw. Growlmon flung his _Dragon Claw_ at it, and the second head retaliated with _Chaos Flame_. MetalGreymon quickly came to his friend's defense, using _Over Flame_ to counteract the purple stream of fire.

Once the flames dispersed, the cyborg dinosaur Digimon fired his _Giga Destroyer_ into the head's face. And before the smoke cleared, Growlmon jumped up and used _Dino Kick_ , kicking the second head, and then spun around to whip it with his tail.

VenomMyotismon growled and kicked outward, knocking both Digimon away from him, only to have BurningGreymon slam into his second head with his _Drago Fanger_ attack. He followed up with his _Tail Whip_ , repeatedly striking the second head across the face until its cheeks were bright red.

With a snarl, it breathed its _Chaos Flame_ at the dragon Digimon. BurningGreymon was blasted backwards. From the amount of power behind the attack, he knew right away that if he had been any element other than Fire or one that was resistant to Fire, then that attack would undoubtedly have killed him.

Angewomon touched down on the ground and launched herself at VenomMyotismon with her _Super Jump_ , slamming into the second head's nose. Angemon came up beside it and fired his _Holy Shot_ , giving his fellow angel Digimon time to unleash her _Heaven's Charm._

"Insolent pests!" the second head seethed. VenomMyotismon's knee came up and slammed into Angewomon. Angemon flew up to catch her and pull her out of the way of the demon best Digimon's reaching claw. They retreated back to the group as VenomMyotismon advanced on them, flames escaping from both heads threateningly.

"We're not getting anywhere," MetalGreymon growled. "Even with his weak spot exposed, he's still too strong."

"Maybe not," said BurningGreymon, brushing the ashes off himself. "We've been attacking one after another. Lets try attacking all together."

Angewomon climbed out of Angemon's arms. "I have something that can work with that, but you'll have to attack me with everything you have."

Growlmon gave her a look of disbelief. "Do what? Attack _you_?"

"You'll see what I mean. Just trust me."

"I can see you," VenomMyotismon declared. One of his eyes on his upper head was still clenched tightly shut, but the other one was open and seemed to be healed and functioning once again.

Paildramon realized that they were running out of time. "Whatever you're going to do, do it fast."

Angewomon nodded. "Right." She flew up in the air, halfway between VenomMyotismon and her friends. _"Bliss of Saints!"_ She raised her hands in the air and a vortex of rainbow light appeared above her. "Now, everyone, give me your strongest attacks."

"You heard her," said Angemon. _"Hand of Fate!"_

" _Wildfire Tsunami!"_

" _Electric Bolt!"_

" _Pyro Blaster!"_

" _Giga Destroyer!"_

"Me too," Shoutmon cried. _"Fiery Fastball!"_

"And me," said Cutemon, wanting to contribute further. _"Ultrasonic Song!"_

The attacks flew through the air towards Angewomon. They entered the vortex of light above her and disappeared into it.

VenomMyotismon sneered at her. "You think you can stop me with that? _Inferno!"_

" _Chaos Flame!"_ his second head cried.

Purple and orange flames flew towards Angewomon. She redirected the vortex of light above her, and the two attacks were absorbed into it as well, their evil power getting neutralized. The vortex condensed and became a _Celestial Arrow_ that Angewomon took aim with. "Everyone attack him now with all your power!"

MetalGreymon and the others turned back to VenomMyotismon. "This is it, guys. Hold nothing back. Hit him with everything you've got. _Giga Destroyer!"_

The others followed suit, repeating their attacks as Angewomon let her arrow fly, each putting everything they had into their attack. The attacks exploded against VenomMyotismon's second head, and the demon beast Digimon was blasted clear off his feet. He landed with a mighty _thud_ , both heads roaring.

The second head flailed about, waving its arms around frantically as it pixelated and dissolved into data. The data breakdown continued down VenomMyotismon's legs and up his body. The demon beast Digimon's enraged cry echoed all around, but was slowly silenced as VenomMyotismon vanished.

"Dibs!" Shoutmon called, making a run for the data.

The others remained where they were, looking on in disbelief at where VenomMyotismon once stood. As humans, even ones able to transform, they could never truly understand the depths of a Digimon's power, yet even they understood that they had just pulled off an incredible feat just now. They had just defeated VenomMyotismon. Four Ultimate and two Champions had taken down a Mega, something that should have statistically been impossible in terms of power, yet they had done it. The monster that had plagued them for weeks was finally gone.

"Hey…" Growlmon muttered, "did we just win? We just won, right?"

"We did," MetalGreymon confirmed. "VenomMyotismon's gone. We beat a Mega."

One by one, they returned to their human forms. They exchanged looks with one another, and then almost as if they had been waiting for a signal, they began cheering. High-fives, fist-bumps, and pats on the back were given all around. Cutemon jumped up onto Takato cheerfully, and he tossed her into the air and caught her. Kari embraced TK, and he twirled her around, both laughing joyfully. Davis wrapped and arm around Tai and Takuya's necks, grinning broadly as they cheered in celebration over their victory.

"It's over!" the fairy Digimon declared with tears of relief in her eyes. "It's finally over! Wait until I tell the others. No more Myotismon. No more snatchers. No more having our homes destroyed and our friends imprisoned. We're free!"

As the group celebrated, Shoutmon walked back over to them, looking rather smug. His smile fell from his face though as he stared at the others' behavior. He blinked a few times and walked over to them, his expression blank. "Hey, what's up with you guys?"

Davis gave him a look of disbelief. "What's up with us? Um, hello! We just kicked VenomMyotismon's furry butt. We actually beat a Mega. A _Mega!_ I'd say it's time to celebrate."

He picked up the dragon Digimon and held him over his head as he began running around. The others laughed as Shoutmon kicked and waved his arms around in protest. "Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing? Put me down!"

"Aww, lighten up!" Davis told him cheerfully. "This is a victory party!" Just as he said this, he crashed face first into a piece of the castle VenomMyotismon had thrown at them, having not been paying attention to where he was going.

TK winced. "Ouch. That's gotta hurt."

Tai sweat-dropped. "Well, that's what happens when you run around with your eyes closed."

Grumbling, Shoutmon sat up, rubbing his head. "I'm all for celebrating, you guys, but lets not get ahead of ourselves."

Davis sat up as well. "Not get ahead of ourselves? We just beat a Mega."

Shoutmon closed his eyes and sighed. He'd seen this before, many times. He'd even been a victim of it himself, and he didn't want them to fall prey to it. Arrogance. He had to make them understand that even though they had indeed achieved a major victory, there were forces in this world beyond their comprehension in terms of power.

"Yes, you beat a Mega, and I congratulate you on this, but don't let it go to your heads. We've still got a long way to go, and our luck won't hold out forever."

"What do you mean?" Takato asked.

"You guys are from a different world. I try and explain how things work here, but some things you'll never understand unless you experience them. You beat VenomMyotismon, yes, but you have no idea how lucky you were to have the circumstances be in your favor."

Kari frowned. "Our favor?"

"I told you. VenomMyotismon had only _just_ Digivolved, and so his powers hadn't fully developed yet. He was also a demon beast Digimon and Darkness type while both TK and Kari had an advantage over him being angel Digimon and Light types, his weakness. And speaking of weaknesses, he had a weak spot that we were able to attack. And he had also been weakened while he was still Myotismon. That's four advantages we had in battle."

He gave them a serious look. "But there are Digimon out there that have been Megas for many, many years, their powers long since fully developed. And they'll be different types and species that aren't weak against your types. You may even be weak against their types. And they won't have weak spots we can attack either, nor will they already be weakened from before the battle started. VenomMyotismon was strong, yes, but he was small time compared to some Digimon out there. What are we going to do when we run into them? We won't have these advantages next time. In fact, had it not been for Cutemon and Angewomon's healing powers, we would not have survived this battle."

The DigiDestined stared at him, their good mood dampening, and the high-spirited celebratory atmosphere quickly died down.

"Boy, way to be a killjoy," Davis grumbled.

The dragon Digimon sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just trying to get you to understand what's in store for us."

Tai shook his head. "No, you're right. As great as it is that we defeated VenomMyotismon, we can't let it go to our heads. We have to be ready for anything, and know that at any moment we could run into someone whose power far exceeds our own."

The mood had now officially been killed. Shoutmon inwardly flinched at the forlorn looks on the teens' faces. Perhaps he had gone too far. He hadn't wanted to bring down their spirits; he just wanted to get them to understand the difference between being confident and arrogant. Arrogance could lead to being careless, and that could lead to one's downfall.

"However," he said carefully, "there is something to be said for celebrating your victory."

The others looked at him. "But you said…" Takato began.

"I never said you didn't do a good job. On the contrary, what you guys pulled off is amazing, nothing short of miraculous. I just didn't want you to start thinking that everything would work out just because you try really, really hard. There will be times where you just won't be able to do things. There will be times where you'll run into an enemy that you just won't be able to win against, and to try will lead to your deaths. I just want you to be careful and not become reckless. Know your limitations and act accordingly."

He received stares. It was impossible for Shoutmon to figure out what they were thinking, but he hoped they were taking his warning to heart, in a positive way of course.

With a sigh, Davis walked over to the dragon Digimon. Getting down to his level, he placed a hand on his shoulder. "We understand what you're saying, Shoutmon, but you've got to understand something about humans. We're not restricted by our limitations. We break through them. It's just not in our nature to accept the impossible."

Kari chuckled. "Wow, look at you sounding so philosophical."

TK smiled. "He's right though. You'll never know what you can do if you don't try, and you might just surprise yourself when you do. Our victory over VenomMyotismon proves that."

"Yeah!" Takato cheered. "If we had just given up or run away when Myotismon Digivolved, he would still be going around destroying things."

"But instead we took down a Mega," Takuya picked up. "Something that should have been impossible at the levels were at. Heck, until a few months ago, I would have said that us humans turning into Digimon was impossible."

Cutemon smiled. "Actually, I would have said that humans coming to the Digital World in the first place was impossible."

Shoutmon looked at her. "Not you too."

"We hear what you're saying, Shoutmon," Tai told him. "Really, we do. But as humans, we don't accept whatever restrictions are placed on us; we overcome them."

"We'll keep persevering," said Kari. "Keep moving further, until we make the impossible possible. That's just how we humans are."

Shoutmon looked at each of them, seeing their determination. This wasn't arrogance, this was true determination to do what had never been done before. And they'd certainly done that several times since coming here. Perhaps it was this that empowered them, this inner power that humans possessed that allowed them to become so strong so quickly. Their weak human bodies couldn't sustain it, but it came out in their Digimon forms. Four of them had already reached the Ultimate level after just having achieved Champion a couple months ago, something that should have been impossible so fast.

Sighing, Shoutmon shook his head. "Well, there's something to be said for enthusiasm."

"That's the spirit!" Davis declared. "So, now that we're on roll, we should keep going. How long until we reach Cherubimon's castle?"

"Long time," was Shoutmon's instant response. He noted the eager look on the boy's face was suddenly frozen, as if he had expected a different answer. "A _really_ long time."

The look on Davis' face remained stuck in place for a few moments, but he recovered. "Well, I'm sure we can get there in just a few weeks."

"Months," the dragon Digimon corrected.

Davis' eye twitched. "Right, well, two or three months isn't so-"

"More like nearly a year, if that fast, and that's considering we don't get sidetracked."

"Dude! You're dampening the mood again!"

Shoutmon shrugged. "I'm just stating the facts. You can't alter distance, not even with your human can-do attitude."

Cutemon raised her hand. "Um, if you want to get to Cherubimon's castle, I know a way that can help."

She jumped as the teens rounded on her. "HOW?!"

 **(A/N: VenomMyotismon has been defeated, bringing the Myotismon arc to a close. And then Shoutmon had to go and ruin their good mood. But he's right though, they did get very lucky with VenomMyotismon. Oh, I'm sorry, were you expecting MetalGreymon to become WarGreymon like in the anime? Nope, sorry, but I'm not going to make any one person the "big gun" of the group like they did with WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon in the series. But now that VenomMyotismon is out of the picture, what's next for our heroes? Cutemon says she has a way to help them get to Cherubimon's castle. What will it be? The next arc will be starting next chapter, and it's going to be very interesting** **. I'll be introducing some new characters and a ew traveling companion for our heroes. Stay tuned to find out who it is.)**


	45. Chapter 45: The Trailmon Express

**(A/N: Got a pretty lengthy chapter for you all. Consider it an early Christmas present. It's a little filler, but it leads up to the next arc of my story. I had to rewrite it a few times due to being dissatisfied with the way it turned out, but I'm pretty happy with it now. Hope you like it, and I hope everyone has a happy holiday.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 45: The Trailmon Express**

"You didn't have to come with us, Cutemon," Kari told the fairy Digimon, although she was happy for her company.

Cutemon gave her a look of disbelief. "Are you kidding? You guys saved my life. The least I can do is walk you to the station."

"But won't everyone back at the village worry about you?" TK asked.

She waved this off. "It's fine. Besides, they may not even know that Myotismon has been defeated yet. They'll probably assume I'm still imprisoned. Or that he killed me."

Takato sweat-dropped. "There's a cheery thought."

Tai chuckled and glanced at Shoutmon. "I can't believe you didn't tell us about these stations. We could have saved so much time."

"Hey," the dragon Digimon objected, "there were no stations, or even any tracks, on File Island. It's an isolated area so Baby Digimon can grow and develop. And there weren't any tacks anywhere near where we've traveled to yet. Speaking of which, there aren't any anywhere near Cherubimon's castle either."

"That may be," said Cutemon, "but you can at least cover a lot of ground between here and there by getting a ride."

Kari giggled as the dragon Digimon tried to come up with something to say. "Shoutmon, just admit that you goofed."

"I didn't goof!" he cried in a very childish fashion.

They continued on their way, eventually coming across some train tracks. Assuring them that they were almost there, Cutemon led the way. "There it is!" she cried, pointing.

In the distance, they saw what seemed to be a large train station. They ran the rest of the way, coming up to the enormous structure. Numerous train tracks went out in different directions, branching out even more the further they went out into the horizon. There were different Digimon walking around, some stopping to stare as the teens approached. They paid them no mind, having come to accept that the inhabitants of the world would find them unusual.

"Boy," Takuya muttered, "they sure get detailed with these trains. They almost look alive."

He walked over to observe the smallest one. Cutemon raised a hand to call him back. "Um, Takuya…"

He ignored the fairy Digimon as he looked at the train that looked more like a one-eyed ball with its tongue hanging out, sitting on a unicycle that it pedaled with its arms since it had no legs. "Look at this thing. How's it even run?"

The one large eyeball glanced at him. "The same way you do, kid."

Yelping in surprise, Takuya jumped back and fell over. The others laughed, and TK offered his hand to help him up. "You ok?"

Takuya didn't even notice his offered hand. "T-The train is alive!"

Shoutmon rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Of course, it's alive. That's Trailmon, he's a Digimon."

"Huh?"

Tai checked his Digivice. "Trailmon, Champion level, special attack _Cool Running_. Hey, it says here that there are different variations of Trailmon."

Cutemon nodded. "Yeah, there are 13 kinds, I think. That one there is Ball. There's also Angler, Buffalo, C-89, Franken, Kettle, Worm, Mole, and Raccoon Dog. There's also four more, but I can't remember their names."

"There's also DarkTrailmon and BattleArmamentTrailmon," Shoutmon added, trying to contribute to the conversation in an attempt to show off his knowledge. Until Cutemon had started traveling with them, he had been their confidant and source of information. "So technically there's 15, or 16 if you count C-89's Battle Mode."

Takato thought about this. "Hmm, so there's different kinds of Trailmon. I wonder why that is."

Shoutmon shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe because they're a unique species of Digimon."

TK glanced at a passing Trailmon curiously. "How so?"

"Because Trailmon don't Digivolve, nor do any Digimon Digivolve into them. They're at the Champion level, yes, but they're _always_ at the Champion level."

Kari blinked. "Really? Then what happens if one is killed? Does it still start over as an egg?"

"Oh, sure. All Digital life forms do. But when it hatches, it goes straight to the Champion level." He nodded. "Look, there's one in the corner over there." They looked where he indicated, spotting a Digi-Egg sitting on a track, waiting to hatch. "But since they go straight to the Champion level when they hatch, it takes longer for them to develop than normal Digimon.

"Huh," Davis muttered. "So Trailmon are always Trailmon. I guess that makes sense. Who would choose to spend all their time as a train otherwise?" He tapped the tracks with his foot. "Always confided to these tracks must suck."

Cutemon giggled. "Silly. Trailmon don't _need_ the tracks to get around. They just make it easier for them to travel."

Davis blinked. "Oh, well… it still seems like a rather dull life."

One of the train Digimon pulled up beside him, and its engine let out a cloud of steam at the boy. "It's not dull at all. I wanna keep on running."

With nothing more to say, it rode off. Davis coughed as he waved the smoke away. "What's that Trailmon's problem?"

"That wasn't a Trailmon," said Tai, checking his Digivice. "That was Locomon, Ultimate level, special attack _Steam Bomb_."

His look alike threw his hands in the air. "Ah! I give up! There's too much confusion over these different species."

Cutemon giggled again. "Come on, I'll get you tickets."

She led them through the station. It wasn't all that different from a train station in the Real World, only it was accommodated for Digimon of different sizes. There wasn't too big of a line, but they eventually made it to the front where little gold and silver coin-like Digimon were selling tickets. The Digimon Analyzer revealed the gold ones to be Zenimon and the silver ones to be KoZenimon.

The group ended up being served by a cheerful Zenimon. "Hi! How many to where?"

Cutemon returned the smile. "Hello. Seven tickets to the station closest to the Rose Morning Star."

Tai glanced at Shoutmon. "The Rose Morning Star?"

The dragon Digimon just waved it off. "It's an aurora borealis above Cherubimon's castle that looks like a rose. Don't worry about it."

Behind the glass, Zenimon finished printing out their tickets. "Ok, seven tickets to Station D2K-L11536-F298 at 300 bits each, your total comes to 2,100 bits."

Cutemon held out her hand. Data particles flowed out of her palm, forming a ball of pink light with blue rings of zeroes and ones rotating around it like Saturn.

Takato leaned in to examine the small glowing ball. "Whoa, what's that? I've seen those things floating around like tumbleweeds."

The fairy Digimon held it up for him to see. "This is called a data dust packet. When portions of data gather together, they form these. This is one made 2,100 bits in data form."

"Um, bits?"

"Yeah, bits are our form of currency. Don't you have money in your world?"

"Oh sure. We have dollar, and cents, and yen, and euros, and pounds, and francs, and pesos, and-"

"Lots of different forms of currency," Takuya interrupted, summing it up. "Different countries use different systems of money."

Cutemon raised an eyebrow at this. "Really? That's weird. That'd be like having different countries speak different languages."

Takato shifted. "Actually…"

"Cash should be universal," the fairy Digimon continued, "it'd make things so much easier." She handed the ball to Zenimon. "Here you do, 2,100 bits."

The coin Digimon accepted the ball, tossing it into the large safe behind it. "Thank you very much! Here's your tickets."

He handed Cutemon the tickets, but a gloved hand snatched them away before she could take them. A much larger brown coin Digimon with a thick black mustache stood above Zenimon, and he was glaring at the teens. "Not so fast. I couldn't help but notice that your friends here don't seem to be Digimon."

Cutemon blinked and glanced at the teens. "Um, no, they're human."

The coin Digimon's eyes shined greedily. "Humans you say. Well, that changes things. For them, the price is 2,500. Each!"

As Cutemon's mouth dropped open, Shoutmon shoved her away in outrage. "What!? That's ridiculous! You can't charge that much for tickets!"

The coin Digimon slammed his fist on the counter. "I'm Ganemon, and this is my station! I can charge whatever I want!"

The dragon Digimon looked positively livid. "Yeah, well, I'm the Digimon King, and I decree this to be highway robbery!"

Leaping over the glass screen, Ganemon pressed his flat face against Shoutmon's. "Is that so? Well, the price for royalty just went up to 5,000 bits!"

"Why you thieving little…" Seething, he produced his mic. "Trying to rob us; I outta…"

Jumping back over the glass, Ganemon ran over to the safe and began eating the bits inside. Turning back to Shoutmon, he began growing at an alarming rate until he was nearly ten feet tall, his color changing from brown to gold. "You wanna tussle, your highness?"

TK and Kari exchanged confused looks. The former checked his Digivice on Ganemon and noted how the coin Digimon would grow larger with the more money he ate, and he had certainly gobbled up quite a bit.

Tai sighed. _"Execute! Spirit Evolution… MetalGreymon!"_ Towering over the coin Digimon, he glared down at him. "You wouldn't be trying to take advantage of us, would you?"

Ganemon paled as he stared up at the cyborg dinosaur Digimon towering over him. Placing his hand over his mouth, he looked like he was about to be a sick a moment before he threw up all the money he ate, shrinking back down to his normal size and changing from gold to brown once again. "N-No, of course not! There was just a… a small miscalculation on my part. In fact, I'm going to upgrade you to our fastest service, the GranLocomon Express." He rounded on Zenimon. "Quick, get GranLocomon!"

The smaller coin Digimon looked nervous. "B-But, sir, he's not back from his last run yet."

Takato cleared his throat. "Um, that's not necessary. We'll just take a Trailmon."

Ganemon gave him a nervous smile. "Of course. Here are your tickets. WORM!"

A large rust colored Trailmon pulled up. "You called, boss?"

"Yes, give these nice humans a ride to… uh…" he checked their tickets, "Station D2K-L11536-F298."

"Sure thing, boss." He looked up at MetalGreymon. "Uh… sir, I'm afraid you'll have to DeDigivolve, or else you won't be able to fit in the car." When MetalGreymon became Tai once more, Trailmon raised an eyebrow at his human form. "Ok then."

One by one, they boarded the train car, Shoutmon pausing to stick his tongue out at Ganemon before getting onboard. As the door closed, Cutemon came up to the window with tears in her eyes. "I'm going to miss you guys. You're my heroes. I wish you could stay longer."

Kai reached out the window and squeezed her hand. "So do we, but we have to get home; we've already been away for too long."

Tai stuck his head out the window. "You should get back too. Give everyone the good news, and tell them that we said bye."

Cutemon rubbed her eyes and nodded. "I will."

TK appeared by Kari's side. "Thanks for everything, Cutemon."

Davis came up beside him, pushing the blonde boy into the glass so he could be seen. "Yeah, we couldn't do it without ya."

The fairy Digimon gave them an astounded look. "Are you kidding? I'm the one who should be saying thanks. If it hadn't been for you guys, my village and I would still be at Myotismon's mercy. Or worse, VenomMyotismon's."

Takato and Takuya both appeared at a different window. "Lets just say we all helped each other out," the former suggested."

"'Cause that's what friends do," Takuya added.

Smiling sadly, the fairy Digimon nodded. "Yeah, and we'll be friends forever."

A cloud of smoke emitted from Trailmon. "Ok, if we're all done with our goodbyes, we best get a move on. Woo, woo!"

He started pulling away, dragging the cars with him. Cutemon backed away as the DigiDestined started moving. She ran along side the track as far as she could before stopping to wave. The DigiDestined waved back, and they continued to until the station had disappeared from sight.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Hours passed by as Trailmon sped along. For a while, the teens conversed with the train Digimon, who insisted that they call him Worm, as they rode along. The landscape passed them by, some areas more civilized, some more wilderness, and some a strange blend of the two. At the moment, they were going through a rocky terrain that seemed like it should be devoid of life, yet even here a few Digimon were spotted.

"Hey, Trailm- I mean, Worm," Takato called. "Do you Trailmon ever get attacked by other Digimon?"

"Sometimes," the train Digimon admitted. "But don't worry, I'm not completely helpless." To prove his point, he breathed a stream of fire. "Besides, no one really attacks a Trailmon. Not only are we hard to catch, but if we're killed, our Digi-Eggs appear at the last station we were at rather than Primary Village, and everyone will know that we were killed. And since it takes a lot longer for our eggs to hatch, we'd have a lot of unhappy customers that are angry with whoever destroyed us since our services would be unavailable for a while."

The boy chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I can see why no one would want to mess with you."

TK's eyes narrowed. "VenomMyotismon probably would have. That guy was out of control."

"I'll say," Takuya agreed in disgust. "It really makes me sick that someone like that can just go around causing such senseless destruction."

Kari nodded in agreement. "I'm just glad we were able to stop him before he destroyed more than his castle."

Shoutmon gave a bark of laughter. "You think VenomMyotismon was destructive? He was nothing. You only saw him destroy his castle. Thousands of years ago, a group of seven evil Digimon nearly destroyed the entire Digital World."

The color drained from Takato's face, and he quickly covered up his unease with a nervous smile. "Oh, come on, you're exaggerating. I mean, seven guys destroying the whole world."

The dragon Digimon shook his head. "I wish I was just making this up. There's actually a handful of Digimon that could destroy the world very easily. Heck, there's even a few that could destroy the entire Digital dimension with a single attack if they wanted to."

Davis jumped to his feet. "But that's crazy! If they did that, then they'd destroy themselves as well."

Shoutmon nodded. "Hence the reason no one has done it yet."

They fell silent for a while after that, the teens taking in this shocking news. With this stunning revelation, they began to realize just how out of their league they really were. Now the warning Shoutmon had given them when they defeated VenomMyotismon was beginning to make more sense.

"Woo, woo!" Trailmon called. "We're coming up to a landmark. If you take a look out your window, you'll see one of the many Trailmon graveyards."

Kari blinked. "Trailmon graveyard?" She looked out the window and cried out. They were indeed passing through what seemed to be a Trailmon graveyard. Resembling a junkyard, it was filled with the smashed and rusted carcasses of various Trailmon. "They're all dead!"

Both Trailmon and Shoutmon began laughing. The latter jumped up and slapped her on the back good-humoredly. "Oh, man, you should see your faces. Don't worry, it's not a graveyard in the way you humans think of them. I told you that Trailmon come back when they die just like all Digital life forms do." He nodded towards the window. "When Trailmon get beat up, broken, or just plain worn out, they come here to molt. They shed their outer layer and, presto, they're all sparkly and new underneath. Look, one's shedding right now."

The train came to a stop so the teens could see. An Angler Trailmon was waiting amongst the shed husks. It looked old, rusty, and worn out, covered in various scraps and dents, basically looking like it was about to break down.

Before their very eyes, a glowing crack appeared down the middle, and the two halves fell away. When they light faded, the Trailmon looked brand new, and it hopped on the track again and sped off.

"That was cool," said Takato. He looked around at all the Trailmon husks. "Maybe a little bad for the environment though. Do all these, uh, sheddings just keep piling up?"

"Ah, don't worry about it," Trailmon told him as they started moving again. "They'll break down into data eventually."

TK chuckled. "Well, it's good to know you're not polluting."

They fell silent again, riding along as they sun began to set. Soon Davis' snoring was heard over the sound of Trailmon's engines as they travelled along. But while the others enjoyed the scenery, Tai was deep in thought. Until Shoutmon had mentioned that there were Digimon capable of destroying whole dimensions, he hadn't realized just how dangerous this world was. He knew it was dangerous, yes, but not _how_ dangerous it was. They were all literally at the mercy of these super powerful Digimon.

Noticing that her brother was deep in thought, Kari went to go sit by him. "You look like something's bothering you."

He sighed. "It is."

She waited for a few moments. "Well…?"

Another sigh. "I don't like it, how there are Digimon that are so strong that they could just annihilate the whole world in an instant. It makes me uncomfortable. No one's safe if there are those with that kind of power."

He expected her to be worried, but instead she just smiled. "Oh, Tai, is that what's bothering you?" She shook her head. "I don't think you need to worry about that. If none of those Digimon have destroyed everything by now, it's unlikely that they will. As it was pointed out, they would destroy themselves as well. Digimon may be reborn, but dying can't be fun, and I'm sure they wouldn't want to have to start all over again."

"Besides," TK added, joining in on the conversation, "just because someone has the power to do something, doesn't mean they will. And who says these Digimon are evil in the first place. Perhaps they're protectors of the peace."

He glanced at Shoutmon, who nodded. "Some of them."

Tai hadn't really considered that. "I guess that's true. But still, how can you stand to be at the mercy of someone capable of destroying the whole world, the entire dimension even?"

The dragon Digimon shrugged. "Not much of a choice. But you can't live in fear. There's not much cause for concern anyway. Like I said, even these destructively powerful Digimon have no interest in dying."

"Look at it this way," said Kari, "even in the Real World, the world leaders have nuclear weapons and such at their disposal; enough that they could destroy the planet 10 times over, but we're not living in fear of that, are we?"

Her brother thought about this and realized she was right. It wasn't too often he relied on his little sister like this. Giving her a smile, he placed his hand on top of her head. "Since when did you get so smart?"

She chuckled. "I've always been smart, silly; you've just been too dense to notice."

The others laughed. But the topic made Takuya curious about something. "Hey, Shoutmon, I was wondering, since you Digimon never really die, what would happen if one of these super powerful Digimon really did destroy the entire dimension? Would you guys just float around in oblivion because you have nowhere to go?"

Shoutmon looked horrified by the idea. "Goodness, no! If the dimension, or even the world, were ever destroyed like that, then all the data would be reconfigured just like we Digimon are in a massive reboot. The bad thing about that is that everything would reset itself to the way it was at the very beginning. All the changes and advantages and evolutions the world's gone through will go back to how it was when it was first created. All that we've built and accomplished will be gone, and the world will have to start over."

"Yikes," Takato muttered. "That'd be like us having to start over again in the Stone Age."

"We Digimon would start over too for that matter," the dragon Digimon added. "If the world's destroyed, we'd all die too. Everyone would start over as Digi-Eggs and have to start building up our strength. The war between good and evil would start over from scratch as well, and that may not work in our favor."

Takuya had been following along, but had gotten lost with that last bit. "What do you mean?"

"Originally, there were no evil Digimon, but as we grew and evolved, some went bad. Fortunately, the good ones greatly outnumber the bad and have been able to keep the bad ones at bay."

"I guess that makes sense," TK noted. "Humans too aren't born evil either. They become wicked by choice."

Shoutmon nodded. "It's the same with us Digimon too. At least it was in the beginning. Hopefully, when bad Digimon are destroyed, they'll try and be better after they're reborn, or decide it's too troublesome to try and gain enough strength to take over once more. But if they do decide to continue their wicked ways, then those that fight for the light can make sure they don't rise to power like they did before. The war between good and evil is never-ending, but we can at least make sure the dark side never prevails.

"But if we're all forced to start over, everyone will basically be at the same level of strength. The war will start all over again on equal terms, only the evil Digimon may rise to power faster than the good ones. If that happens, then we'll be at their mercy, and they would be the ones making sure we don't rise to power."

Trailmon, who had been listening in on the conversation, joined in. "I'm afraid he's right, kids. Things may be bad in the Digital World right now, but the evil Digimon, the ones capable of actually impacting this world, are very few in number. But once they're defeated, we'll enter an age of peace. Like he said, chances are they'll turn over a new leaf or give up on their evil goals after they're reborn, but if not, we can prevent them from becoming as big of a threat that they were before. It's true that the fight between the light and darkness will go on forever, but once these bad Digimon are defeated, as long as no super powerful good ones decide to go bad, then the threat the darkness presents will come to an end. Maybe for good."

Tai sat back. "Well, I guess that's something to hope for." A loud snore across from him drew his attention, and he glanced at his sleeping look alike. "Hey, Davis," he nudged him, "wake up; you should hear this."

His drooling doppelganger just grunted and turned on his side, still sleeping.

TK chuckled. "Actually, he probably has the right idea. We should all get some sleep. This is probably one of the few times none of us will have lookout duty."

Almost as if his suggestion triggered it, Takato yawned. "Sounds good to me."

One by one, they got comfortable and closed their eyes. After a few minutes, they were all asleep. Only Tai remained awake, staring out the window as the land sped by. He looked up to see the model of Earth in the sky with the data streams flowing down from it. He knew it wasn't the real Earth, he didn't even know what that model thing was, but it made him homesick. Hopefully, they would reach Cherubimon's castle soon and be able to go home.

If not, well, he would worry about that when the time came.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

The nightmare was horrible, and TK moaned in his sleep as the worst kinds of images came to him. Unintelligible words escaped his mouth as he shifted around, stirring Kari out of her sleep as she leaned against him.

"Hmm, TK?" she muttered sleepily, rubbing her eyes. She glanced at him, seeing him gritted his teeth at whatever he was dreaming about. "TK? Hey, TK."

She gasped as she saw unshed tears seeping out of his closed eyes. He must be having some nightmare for it to affect him this much. She didn't want to wake him, they were all exhausted from their journey, but she couldn't let this go on any longer.

Trying to keep her voice low so as not to wake the others, she shook him gently. "TK, wake up. It's ok, it's just a nightmare. Wake up."

He woke with a start, breathing heavily. "Kari!"

She placed a hand over his mouth and put a finger to her lips, glancing at the others. Tai was still asleep beside her, as were the others sitting in the seat across from them. Shoutmon was sleeping just as soundly on the floor by their feet.

"It's ok, I'm here," she whispered. "Everything's ok." She was startled as he suddenly pulled her into a hug, and a blush stained her cheeks at the unexpected display of affection. "TK?"

His hold on her just tightened. "Thank goodness you're ok."

She slowly brought her hands up, returning the hug, rubbing his back reassuringly. "Of course I'm ok. You were having a bad dream."

After several seconds, he seemed to regain his composure. Slowly, he moved back, but was still grasping her. "Sorry. You're right, it was just a bad dream."

He wasn't looking at her, and she reached and placed a hand to his cheek. "Do you want to talk about it?"

His own hand came up to cover hers, as if he was still reassuring himself that she was there. He looked like he wanted to say something, but then he let her go and turned away. "It's fine. It was a nightmare, nothing more."

She frowned, not liking the way he was closing himself off from her. "It's ok, whatever it is, you can tell me. It's better to talk about it."

A stubborn growl escaped him, and he shook his head. "You don't want to know. Trust me."

Kari's own stubborn look crossed her face, but then her features softened and she sighed. "TK, it's ok to rely on me. No one can be strong all the time. You don't have to keep everything to yourself. You know I'm here for you. I want to help." When he still didn't answer her, she turned him to face her. "That wasn't just any old nightmare. You saw something that really got to you. Please, talk to me."

He stared at her for a few moments. It looked like he was still going to remain silent, but then he sighed, diverting his eyes from her. "It was about Myotismon."

She blinked in surprise. "Huh? Myotismon?"

He nodded. "I could see it so clearly. He'd beaten us, all of us. And he had you. He was doing things to you, horrible things." He grit his teeth tightly. " _Unspeakable_ things."

Kari felt her stomach clench. He was right, she _didn't_ want to know, but it didn't take much for her to figure out what had happened in his dream. Myotismon had made his intentions towards her very clear, and a wave of nausea hit her at the thought of what could have happened if he had gotten his way.

She shook off the thought and focused on the boy in front of her. "It's ok though. We beat him. He can't hurt us any more."

TK's fists clenched. "We've seen some evil Digimon here, but never anyone like him. I feel like I witnessed evil in its truest form."

Kari had to agree with him there. Myotismon had come across as far more evil than anyone they'd faced so far, even worse than Devimon and Dragomon. She still shuddered at what he had done to turn Gatomon's friend into LadyDevimon. "I know what you mean, but it's over now. We don't have to worry about-"

"It was too close. We won only by the skin of our teeth. And I shudder to think what would have happened if we lost." He glanced at her. "If he had won, he only would have killed us, but you… He wanted you for more, and not just your blood. He wanted…"

He couldn't bring himself to say it, but he didn't need to. They'd all knew what Myotismon had wanted from her besides her blood. The thought still made her skin crawl, and she knew that TK must have been seeing that in his nightmare. No wonder he had been so distraught.

Reaching out, she pulled him into a hug. "I know. I know what he wanted. But we stopped him. I'm safe, you're safe, we're all safe."

"This time," he whispered. "We came through this time. But what if we run into someone else like him, or someone worse. Someone we won't be able to defeat." He looked at her with something akin to desperation. "If anything were to happen to you…"

"Hey!" She grasped his face, knowing that the residue of his nightmare was the cause for this behavior. "Stop it, this isn't like you. Where's the strong, hopeful TK that I know? You're not going to let a stupid nightmare get the better of you. You're stronger than that." She gave him a smile. "And so am I. Don't forget, I'm a powerful Ultimate now."

TK stared at her some more before he finally seemed to calm down. He sighed and leaned back in his seat. "I know that. And I'm glad for it." A smile grazed his face. "You're even stronger than I am now. But still…" he looked up at the ceiling, seeing beyond it, "I don't want you to have to rely on that power. I want you to be able to rely on me. I want to Digivolve too. I want to be the one to protect you."

Kari felt her heart flutter, and her cheeks heated once more. She shifted in her seat until she was sitting forward again. "You're not the only one who wants that. I want to protect you too. And everyone else as well." Her hand crept over and slid on top of his. "We'll protect each other."

TK glanced down at her hand on top of his. He looked back at her to see her smiling at him. He returned the smile and shifted his hand to hold hers. "Yeah, we'll keep each other safe, and we'll make it back home, no matter what comes our way."

She beamed at him. "There's my TK."

They continued smiling at each other, still grasping hands. Slowly TK's smile was replaced by a more serious and determine look. "I will protect you, Kari. No matter what." He shifted closer to her. "Because I…

"TK…" she whispered, almost dreamily.

They were close now, both their gazes locked on the others. It was in that moment that a sudden stop sent Davis, Takato, and Takuya flying out of their seats, crashing into Kari, TK, Tai across from them. On the floor, Shoutmon slid across the length of the car beneath the seats, the movement waking him with a start.

"What happ- ow!" He rubbed his head where he banged it under the seat. "Why'd we stop?"

Rather than answer, Trailmon suddenly reversed directions, sending the teens into the seat opposite of them and Shoutmon sliding across the floor once more.

"Hey, Worm, what's going on?" Takuya cried as he squirmed out from under Tai and Kari.

"We're backing it up and moving it out," the train Digimon called back.

"Why?"

"Data stream, kid. It's coming straight for us."

It took a moment for them to comprehend what he was saying. When it finally registered, they all jumped to a window. Sure enough, coming down the tracks towards them was one of the pinkish magenta beams from the sky they had only ever seen from a distance. It was much bigger close up, about the size of a tornado, and potentially more dangerous considering it could send them practically anywhere in the Digital World.

"Go faster! Go!" Tai shouted as he watched the data stream close in on them.

"Sorry, kid, this is as fast as I can go."

Davis looked around. "Then can't you just leave the track?"

"Have you seen how rocky this ground is, sonny? I'd be going even slower than I am now. That thing will catch us in no time. We're just gonna have to hope it changes direction before it- Whoa! Never mind. Looks like we're going to be taking a bit of a detour."

The beam of light flowed over him, sucking up him and the cars attached to him. The teens cried out as they were pulled into the light, vanishing without a trace.

 **(A/N: Oh no! Of all things to happen. They had a nice ride to get them most of the way towards their destination, only to be sucked up into a data stream. There's no telling where they'll end up. They might even end up on another layer than the one Cherubimon is on. That'll really complicate things. Guess we'll have to wait and see where the data stream drops them. Keep your fingers crossed it's not too bad.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the _DOT_ in the link(s) below with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _ **DOT**_ **wikia** _ **DOT**_ **com/wiki/** **Zenimon**

 **digimon** _ **DOT**_ **wikia** _ **DOT**_ **com/wiki/** **KoZenimon**

 **digimon** _ **DOT**_ **wikia** _ **DOT**_ **com/wiki/** **Ganemon**

 **digimon** _ **DOT**_ **wikia** _ **DOT**_ **com/wiki/Trailmon**

 **digimon** _ **DOT**_ **wikia** _ **DOT**_ **com/wiki/Locomon**

 **digimon** _ **DOT**_ **wikia** _ **DOT**_ **com/wiki/GranLocomon**


	46. Chapter 46: Jungle Fever

**(A/N: Welcome to 2017 everyone. Can you believe I haven't updated this since last year? ...Ok, that joke was really lame, but all those "see you next year" jokes are corny. Hope you all had a good holiday though. I know I did, as short as it was. After our last cliffhanger ending, our heroes were sucked into a data stream. Oh boy, that's not good. Lets see where they ended up.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 46: Jungle Fever**

A pixelated kaleidoscope of colors swirled all around them as the group was teleported to places unknown. According to what Shoutmon had told them, the data streams randomly teleported anyone caught up in it to another location in the Digital World. Just when they had found an affective mode of transportation, this had to happen.

"Just hang on!" Shoutmon cried as the car spun around out of control. "This happened to me a few times before! I'll be over soon!"

It seemed he was right. A few seconds later, the lightshow ended. The car ended up somewhere on its side as the data stream that dropped them off moved along without them. They could be anywhere now.

"I'm gonna be sick," Davis muttered, looking green in the face.

Considering they were laying in a dog pile and his face was right above Shoutmon, the dragon Digimon was understandably concerned. "Don't you dare!"

Heedless of his words, the boy's cheeks puffed out. Shoutmon screamed and began struggling to get up. "Let me out! Let me out!" He burst from the pile of bodies. "That was the scariest thing I've ever seen." He climbed up to a window. "Hey, Worm, where'd we end… up…?"

He trailed off as he stared at the outside. It was a jungle out there, literally. Vines of all different lengths and widths covered everything for as far as the eye could see. As such, Trailmon had absolutely no idea where they were. "Sorry, I haven't a clue. And it's gonna take me forever to get through this stuff and find some tracks again."

Pushing Shoutmon aside, the teens emerged one by one, climbing out of the car through the window and looking out at all the vegetation.

"Geez," Davis muttered, "someone's got a green thumb. Look at this place."

"Davis, this is no time for jokes," Tai chided. "Shoutmon, where are we?"

The dragon Digimon looked around. He could honestly say that he had seen a great deal of the Digital World, but he had never seen a place like this. Vines were everywhere, covering everything, all but choking the land all around. "I have no idea. I've never seen anything like this before." He eyed a vine and reached out to touch it. "These vines don't seem natural."

He touched the green tendril curiously. It instantly came to life and wrapped around his wrist. Crying out, he tried to pull free, unsuccessfully. As the vine began to pull him away, the teens all pounced on him. They pulled back, and the vine let him go. Retreating out of its grabbing distance, they huddled together, trying not to touch anything.

"What was that?" TK exclaimed. "A man-eating plant of some kind?"

"More like a mon eating plant," said Takato. "Best not to touch them."

Takuya glanced around at all the greenery. "Easier said than done. These things have completely overrun this place."

Shoutmon rubbed his wrist. "I'll say. I can't tell where we are. These vines make this place indistinguishable."

"Great!" Tai growled, kicking a rock. It hit a vine, and the plant immediately made a grab for it. "For all we know, we could be on the wrong continent, or even on a different layer. And we were so close too."

"Not even close," Shoutmon corrected. "Even by Trailmon, we were several days' journey from Cherubimon's castle. But, yes, we could be a lot farther away now; I can't say for sure. I'll need to look around a bit more and see if I can figure out where we are."

"Hey!" TK cried hopefully. "Maybe we're actually _closer_ to Cherubimon's castle. The data stream may have saved us a few days' journey."

Shoutmon was busy climbing a vine. "Yeah, maybe… wah!"

Kari winced as he fell to the ground and landed on his head. "You ok?"

"I tink I bi' muh tung."

A few of the others chuckled, but Tai didn't find the situation to be very funny. "Guys, this is serious. We could be on the other side of the world. Nearly four months of traveling, and we could be farther away from our destination than ever!"

Takato frowned, but was unwilling to think the worst-case scenario just yet. "We shouldn't panic yet. We don't even know where we are."

"I'll find out," Trailmon replied. Turned on his side, he began rocking until he somehow managed to flip upright. "Just let me get rid of these vines."

He breathed a stream of fire, incinerating the vines in front of him. Almost immediately, several others flew at him from behind. They grabbed his body and began coiling around him. He struggled, but without any limbs, he couldn't really fight them off. "Hey, get these things away from me!"

"Hold on!" Takuya cried as he and the others rushed over to help. They began ripping the vines off him, but there were far too many, and he was too big for them to cover all the places the vines were wrapping around him. Slowly, they lifted him into the air as they continued to coil around him. Suddenly, they began to secrete a sap-like substance that began to flow over the train Digimon.

"Hey, what is this stuff? Get it off-"

The sap-like slim flowed over his mouth, cutting off his speech as it covered him completely. Then it seemed to become less of a liquid and more of a solid. Trapped in a pod of the transparent goop, Trailmon's eyes closed, and he went still. Down on the ground, the teens stared in horror as their friend stopped moving and simply hung in the air within the strange cocoon-like pod.

"Is he… dead?" Takato asked uncertainly.

Shoutmon shook his head. "If he were dead, he would have broken down into data." He began climbing the vines holding Trailmon in the air, swatting at one when it tried to grab him. When he reached the pod, he touched the transparent barrier. It was tough and leathery, but not unbreakable; he could break through it if he needed to.

Glancing at Trailmon, he studied the train Digimon carefully. "He's ok, he's just asleep."

The others sighed. "At least he's not hurt," Kari breathed. "Can you get him out?"

"Sure, just a sec." He hopped onto a tree that was also covered in the vines. _"Fiery Fast-"_

"Shoutmon, behind you!" TK shouted.

The dragon Digimon turned to find several vines creeping towards him. He immediately jumped down and landed beside the teens. The vines kept coming in greater numbers, cutting off their escape routes.

"What's with these things?" Davis demanded.

"Not sure," said Tai, pulling his foot away when a vine attempted to wrap around his ankle. "But this can't be normal. We better get out of here."

TK looked up at the vines' latest victim. "What about Trailmon?"

"Nothing we can do for him now. We can't help him if we get caught too."

Davis' hand went to his Digivice. "Think we should Spirit Evolve?"

"And make ourselves even bigger targets?" Takuya objectively pointed out. "I think stealth and a smaller size will work better here."

"I know what'll work really well," said Takato. "Run!"

They did, maneuvering around the creeping vines. Ducking under and smacking them away, they fled through the forest of green tentacles. The vines were slow enough to avoid and easy enough to knock away, but the sheer number of them made it difficult to escape. It seemed that no matter where they went, the vines around them would activate and come after them.

As they ran along, they began to notice other Digimon trapped in pods similar to the one Trailmon had been caught in. They paid them no mind, knowing that they would end up just like them if they were caught.

Turning a corner, they came to a dead end. Vines were all around them, wiggling and creeping. They turned to go back the way they came, but were cut off by the ones already chasing them.

"What now?" Takato asked as they bunched up.

Shoutmon produced his mic. _"Bellow Blaster!"_ The blast of energy blew apart several vines, but new ones quickly took their place. One of the vines shot out, reaching for the dragon Digimon. It wrapped around the length of his mic and pulled it out of his hands. "Hey, that's mine!"

The other vines attacked the captured mic. After a few seconds, they dropped it to the ground. Slowly, they began to calm down and started to back away from the group. They stopped wriggling around and became still once more.

Not sure if the danger had passed, the teens were tense. Tai slowly began to relax and was the first to make a move.

"What are you doing? Takuya whispered.

The older boy ignored him and stepped forward. He took a second step, and then a third, moving away from the group. He glanced at the vines, cautiously, then looked around at where they were.

"Tai?" Kari asked worriedly.

"I think it's ok." Bending over, he picked up a rock and threw it at the vines a distance away. The vines moved around where the rock hit them, but did not attack. "Yeah, it seems they go after whatever touches them. Look where we are."

They did. Though vines surrounded them, they were not touching any. Back where they had landed when the data stream had dropped them off, and when they had been running, they had been stepping on or pushing vines aside. No wonder the vines had been going after them.

"So we just have to avoid touching them," Takato noted. He looked around at the vines that completely covered the area. "Great…"

"Lets just get out of here," Davis grumbled. "I don't want to end up like Trailmon and those other Digimon."

"But we can't just leave them there," Kari argued.

"We won't," Tai assured her, "but we don't even know what's going on, let alone how to fix it. We have to look out for ourselves first if we want to have any chance of saving anyone. I say we get out of here and find some help."

"Good plan," Takato agreed. "I knew you were the leader for a reason."

"I thought I was the leader," Davis objected.

"I thought _I_ was the leader," Shoutmon echoed. "I am the Digimon King."

Tai sighed and rolled his eyes. "We can work out the details later. Lets just focus on finding a way out of here for now."

Putting the debate of who was the leader aside, they began making their way through the jungle of vines. This proved to be difficult as the vines were everywhere, some slithering around, some seeking out more victims.

They eventually discovered that the vines only attacked living things. To get through an area where there were too many vines to get past, Shoutmon had used his mic to push a curtain of the green tentacles aside. The vines had slithered along the length of the mic, but did not attack, eventually going still again.

"What's with these things?" Takuya asked as he ducked beneath a wiggling green tentacle. "They're not ordinary vines, that's for sure."

"Wish I could tell you," Shoutmon replied. "There are some Digimon that have vines as body parts or can control plant-life. Blossomon, Lillymon, Cherrymon, but nothing to this extent."

"Then what are those pods?" TK asked. "The ones with the Digimon in them. Are they like Venus flytraps?"

"I have no idea what those are." He received a brief description of the insect devouring pants and made a face. "That's disgusting! Your world is repulsive in so many ways. And to answer your question, no, they're not. There aren't any Digimon that do anything like your Venus plant thingies. Truthfully, I have no idea what those pods are."

A scream from behind them drew their attention, and they turned to find Davis hanging upside-down, a vine wrapped around his ankle. "I think we're about to find out! Get me down! Get me down!"

He was lifted up higher. The teens hurried to the base of the vine and attempted to pull it down. This not only made it react more violently, it also drew in others. One wrapped around Takato's arm, pulling him back while another slid around TK's waist, lifting him into the air. Shoutmon grabbed him to try and pull him down, but instead he too was listed into the air.

"More are coming in!" Tai exclaimed as a vine wrapped around his ankle and yanked, causing him to fall as it began dragging him away.

"Tai!" Kari cried, making a grab for him. A vine shot out and wrapped around her wrist, pulling her back. Two more wrapped around her legs, and a third coiled around her arm. She cried out as she was lifted in the air, and another one wrapped around her waist.

Still hanging upside-down, Davis mouth dropped open as he stared at her. "Whoa, this is turning into a hentai tentacle anime."

"Davis!" the others shouted.

Takuya stepped back and looked at his friends. He was he only one who hadn't been ensnared. Yet. The vines were creeping towards him as well. He was surrounded on all sides, and he couldn't stop moving and hope they would stop searching for him, because he was currently standing on a pile of them.

He considered Spirit Evolving, but if he used his fire, he might burn his friends, trapped in the vegetation as they were. He would have to tear them free first. "Guess I got no choice."

He pulled out his Digivice and was about to activate it when a shadow flew over his head. It rushed towards his friends, and with a few quick slashes with their sword, they severed the vines.

The teens dropped to the ground as their rescuer came up beside them, sheathing their sword. It was a Digimon that resembled a muscular man with the head and tail of a lion. Though intimidating to look at, he had a kind look on his face, for a lion. "Are you ok?"

"For now!" Tai cried, pointing as several more vines came for them.

The lion Digimon turned to them. "Pardon me a moment. _Fist of the Beast King!"_ He punched outward. From his fist flew an energy blast in the shape of a lion's head. It exploded upon coming in contact with the vines, blasting them apart.

"Whoa, now that's an attack," Davis complimented.

The lion Digimon glared at the vines as he addressed the teens. "They don't like fire. They won't come near you if you have any."

The others looked to Shoutmon. The dragon Digimon glanced at each of them before rubbing the back of his head bashfully. "I knew that."

He created a _Fiery Fastball_. Immediately, the vines retreated. Even the ones lying motionless on the ground shifted away from the heat.

The lion Digimon smiled. "As long as you have fire, they'll stay away."

Kari gave him a look of gratitude. "Thank you, Mr… uh…" she checked her Digivice, "Leomon. Than k you, Mr. Leomon. We owe."

The lion Digimon puffed out his chest and thumped it proudly. "Don't thank me, young one, I'm just doing my duty, protecting the weak and the innocent."

"Wow," Takato muttered as he stared at the proud Digimon in awe, "my girlfriend would love you."

He gave the teens a curious look. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you exactly? I'm afraid I've never seen Digimon of your kind before."

Shoutmon chuckled as he used his _Fiery Fastball_ to create a torch. "Brace yourself, big guy, 'cause these folks ain't Digimon. They're human."

Leomon's eyes widened. "You don't say." He studied the teens closely. "So it's true then. There are rumors going around that there are humans in the Digital World."

"For the time being," Tai replied. "We're trying to get home, and we got caught up in a data stream that dropped us off here." He looked around at all the vines. "Wherever here is."

Leomon sighed. "Yes, I'm afraid things are pretty bad in this area right now. You can't even recognize the place anymore. An evil Digimon known as Argomon has taken over."

Shoutmon looked up from his work. "Argomon? The Ultimate level Argomon?" He shook his head. "Can't be. No Argomon could take over an area to this extent. These vines go on for miles."

The lion Digimon shook his head. "This one did. Normally, other Digimon would be able to fight off his vines and prevent him from taking over an area this much, but he's got a band of evil Digimon aiding him. While the residents fought his minions, he spread his vines, and any Digimon he captures, he puts into a deep sleep."

"Like Trailmon," Kari lamented.

"If he was caught by Argomon's vines, then yes."

Davis grabbed the air. "That's bull crap! We'll just bust him out."

Takato looked around. "I don't even know how to get back. I got all turned around when we were running."

Leomon placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "It's alright, son. This place is like a maze right now. But even if you found your friend, it'll prove to be difficult to free him. You might accidentally kill him."

TK frowned. "Can't we wake him up?"

A shake of the head. "If your friend's will is strong enough, he could break free of the spell. The more powerful the Digimon, the easier it will be for them to break free, but for a Champion or below, it's highly unlikely."

Takuya sighed. "So it's unlikely that he'll be able to free himself, and we can't free him without risking his life. What are our other options?"

They knew it was coming before he said it. "Only one, defeat Argomon."

There it was, the obvious statement. Equally as obvious was the response from Davis. "Fine, then we'll beat Argomon."

Shoutmon slapped his forehead. "I knew you were going to say that. I thought you wanted to go home."

"Sure, but we can't possibly-"

"Leave Trailmon behind. Got it."

"Or the other Digimon Argomon captured," TK added. "This is like Myotismon all over again."

Shoutmon looked at each of them. "And you all feel the same way?"

Takato hung his head and sighed. "Being a good Samaritan can be a real occupational hazard."

Kari frowned at the dragon Digimon. "Don't you want to help?"

He looked up at her, his expression unreadable, then he broke out into a grin. "On the contrary, I was hoping you'd say that." He turned to Leomon. "So, where's Argomon?"

The lion Digimon raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think I would know?" His question was met with blank stares. "Have you seen this place? I haven't been able to find anything. In fact, I came in here with three of my companions and got separated from them. I've been trying to find them for weeks with no luck." He shook his head. "I'm afraid the only way to find Argomon would be to randomly search around and hope to run into him."

"What?" Davis cried. "So we're basically relying solely on luck."

Leomon nodded. "I'm afraid so. But at least Argomon won't be able to move form where he is as long as he has all this going on."

Shoutmon crossed his arms. "Well, that explains the vines' behavior. Argomon can sense things through his vines, but can't really tell what's going on."

The lion Digimon sighed. "The real problem you'll face is that you'll most likely get lost or end up going around in circles. And then there are his cronies roaming around. But even if you manage to find him, he's an Ultimate. I'm not sure there's anything you humans will be able to do to stop him."

Davis' outrage was now replaced by a broad grin. "Hey, you don't need to worry about that. We can take care of ourselves."

Leomon raised a doubtful eyebrow and turned his attention to Shoutmon's torch. "We should get a real fire going and settle in for the night. The vines won't come near."

"Good call," Tai agreed. "Lets find some firewood and get some sleep; I didn't get enough on Trailmon."

Wary of the vines, they went about the same nightly duties they'd had since coming to the Digital World. There were a few close calls where a vine nearly grabbed one of them, but they soon had a nice fire going. It was just as Leomon had said; the vines didn't like the fire. They wouldn't even come near it when disturbed, and the group gathered around the heated blaze.

"So, this Argomon, just sits on his butt all day spreading his vines and putting to sleep anyone that gets caught up in them?" Takuya asked. He received a confirming nod from the lion Digimon and made a face. "Geez, how boring. What's the point of it all?"

"He's taking over the area," Leomon explained. "Digimon are known to do that occasionally. But this," he looked around at all the vines, "this is too much. This isn't just staking claim on an area, this is completely suffocating the land. He must be stopped." He sighed and shook his head. "But I'm not strong enough to beat him on my own. I must find my companions."

Davis thumped his chest. "Don't worry, we'll help you take out this overgrown weed, and we'll help you find your friends. Right, guys?"

There were cheers of agreement as the others punched the air. Leomon smiled in appreciation, yet didn't look convinced. From what he had seen, they hadn't even been able to fight off Argomon's vines. There was no way they would be able to face Argomon himself.

Placing a large hand on Davis' head, he gave it a rub. "I thank you for your willingness to help, but I'm afraid I must decline your offer." He spoke to them like an adult humoring a child that had declared they wanted to do something they couldn't do. "This is not a job for children such as yourselves. You should leave this place as soon as you can."

Kari respectfully raised her hand. "Mr. Leomon, sir, you really don't need to worry about us. We're a lot stronger than we look."

Takuya nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we already beat several baddies that were causing trouble."

Leomon was nodding. "Yes, I'm sure each of you are strong. I have heard that humans have an inner strength unlike anything we Digimon have ever seen. But this is not your world. Do you truly understand what it is you're getting yourselves into?"

A chill went down Tai's spine as he thought back to what Shoutmon had told them about how there were some Digimon that were strong enough to destroy whole worlds and even entire dimensions. "We're beginning to understand. Shoutmon here has been acting as our guide, sort of. He's been filling us in on things."

The lion Digimon turned his attention to Shoutmon. "So, you've been taking care of them?"

The dragon Digimon looked uneasy under the much larger Digimon's gaze. "Kind of…"

"Then I advice you to lead them out of this place as soon as the sun comes up."

Takato frowned. "But Leomon, we can help. Really, we can."

But the lion Digimon was resolute in his decision. "This is a very important mission. I can't focus on protecting you and defeating Argomon."

"You don't need to protect us," Takuya insisted. "Come on, take us with you. We'll do it together."

Leomon stared at him. He looked from one teen to the other before turning to Shoutmon, who just shrugged. Finally, he sighed. "Let me sleep on it. I'll decide what to do in the morning."

TK nodded. "Sounds fair." He looked at the fire. "I don't think we need to worry about any enemy Digimon with all these vines, but are you sure the fire will keep them away?"

The lion Digimon nodded. "They've already settled around the area. As long as they're not disturbed, they won't bother us, even if the fire goes out. I also set up a barrier around us just to be safe. It'll be fine; I've been doing this for days."

Tai smiled in relief. "Good to know. I guess we can get a good night's sleep without having anyone keep watch."

A snore drew Takato's attention, and he chuckled. "I think Davis is way ahead of us again."

They looked to their friend and found Davis snoring loudly. Several chuckles were emitted, followed by some yawns. Soon Shoutmon and the six humans were sound sleep. Leomon watched them, a fond smile on his face. "Cute kids. Good luck to you."

When the group woke up the next morning, the lion Digimon was gone.

 **(A/N: The next arc has begun. In case you haven't figured it out, it's the Argomon Arc. Yes, Argomon is the villain this time. And unlike past villains, our heroes are trapped in his territory, where one false move could mean sleeping for a very long time. Will they be able to get out of the vine jungle? Can they defeat Argomon if they manage to find them and free all the sleeping Digimon? And what of Leomon and his companions? Lots of questions that need answering, so stay tuned for more.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Leomon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/** **Argomon_(Ultimate)**


	47. Chapter 47: Data Glutton

**(A/N: Wow, this one turned out to be much lengthier than I thought. Hopefully we'll be getting more chapters like this one. This chapter is when things will really start to get interesting. It'll also have one of my favorite Digimon in it, or one of their stages anyway.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 47: Data Glutton**

"I still can't believe Leomon left us like that," Davis said for the umpteenth time.

TK sighed. "Look, he's gone. There's nothing we can do about it, so just let it go."

"No on asked you, TS." He rounded on Takato. "Can't you just become Growlmon and sniff him out?"

The boy sweat-dropped. "Um, I don't think my nose is _that_ good. But I guess we shouldn't be surprised he left us behind. He made it clear that he couldn't risk bringing us along with him, but we were being rather stubborn. He probably thought he was doing what was best."

"By just leaving us with all these vines?"

"He didn't just abandon us," TK pointed out. "He made sure we were safe, taught us how we can keep the vines away," he nodded at Shoutmon, "made sure we had someone who could guide and protect us. I guess he thought, or hoped, we'd give up on stopping Argomon and would find our way out if he left."

Shoutmon snorted. "He clearly underestimated how stubborn you humans are."

Holding up his torch, Tai warded off some vines that were in their way. "This isn't a matter of being stubborn. We have no idea where we are. Maybe we're heading for an exit, maybe we're getting closer to Argomon, or we could just be getting even more lost."

"Or just plain going around in circles," Kari added. "This place does look kind of familiar." She looked. "Maybe one of us should Spirit Evolve and fly up there to see which way we should go."

She took out her Digivice, but Shoutmon grabbed her arm. "Don't bother. You'll never be able to fly through those vines without getting ensnared."

Taking a second look, she saw he was right; the vines were too thick here. "I could just blast my way through."

He shook his head. "Don't risk it. I'm smaller. I'll climb up there and take a look." He hopped onto a pillar of vines and began climbing, smacking away the ones that reached for him.

"On your right!" TK warned.

Glancing over his shoulder, he saw a dozen or so vines reaching for him. A _Fiery Fastball_ quickly dealt with the problem, and he continued climbing.

"You know," Takuya suggested, "I could just turn into BurningGreymon and burn all these stupid things."

Having heard his suggestion, even from his current height, the dragon Digimon called down, "Save your strength. There's far too many. You would need hundreds of Fire Digimon ranging from Champion to Ultimate to get rid of all these. All you'll accomplish on your own is to waste your energy and draw the vines' attention to us."

"Then how about we fly out of here," Takato suggested.

Davis got a little too close for comfort. "Have you forgotten our objective? We don't want to just get out of here, we want to find Argomon."

"Hold that thought!" Shoutmon cried upon reaching the top. "I'll see if I can find him from up here." He pushed aside some more vines and was greeted by a light breeze. "There we go."

From way up above, he looked around. His hopes quickly came crashing down as he saw that the vines went on for miles, covering everything. Frowning, he turned in all different directions, seeing nothing but vines covering the ground and various structures.

"Boy, Argomon's really been busy." He squinted to see something in the distance. "Hey, is that…? It is!"

As he stared at what, from this distance away, seemed to be a long, tall pole with something at the top, a shadow fell over him. He quickly spun around and threw a _Fiery Fastball_ at the vines reaching for him. "Ha! Take that! We'll not be having a repeat like that sneak attack from that black gear." Another shadow fell over him, and he grinned. "A second attempt? Fine then!" He turned to the left. _"Fierty Fast-"_

A savage snarl and a green face greeted him. He yelped and ducked as a scythe belonging to a praying mantis Digimon flew past him, nearly taking his head off. "Geez, where did that guy come fro- AH!"

It wasn't just one; an entire swarm of insect Digimon were suddenly flying around him. Another one swooped down and slashed at him, and he stepped backwards, plummeting to the ground. He crashed through several vines before landing on his head.

TK winced. "That had to hurt. I hope he didn't bite his tongue."

"Maybe you should stop climbing things," Kari suggested, recalling all the times he's fallen.

Shoutmon groaned as Tai hurried over and waved his torch at the vines that the dragon Digimon had fallen through, which had began seeking him out. Rubbing his head, he sat up, giving the human with the torch an appreciative smile. "Well, flying out of here isn't an option unless you want to fight off a swarm of Snimon."

Takuya blinked. "Snimon?" He checked his Digimon. "Ah, here they are. Snimon, a Champion level praying mantis Digimon. Their special attack is _Twin Sickle_ that sends out blades of energy."

Kari looked up. "What are they doing here?"

TK thought about it. "Well, if I had to take a guess, I'd say they're picking off any Digimon that try flying out of here. They might even work for Argomon. Leomon did say he had some cronies."

Standing up, Shoutmon dusted himself off. "Possibly. But never mind them now. I've got some good news, and bad news. Which do you want first?"

"Bad," everyone chorused, except for Davis, who said, "Good." He looked at each of them when they glanced at him. "What? Get the good news first so the bad news doesn't seem as bad."

"I always preferred the bad news first so the good news makes things seem better," said Kari, receiving nods of agreement from the others.

Fuming, Davis kicked the ground. "Fine, give us the bad news."

Shoutmon shrugged. "Ok, bad news, Snimon aren't the only problem. Flying is completely out of the question if we want to find Argomon. Most likely, he's tucked away inside a cover of vines somewhere so we can't even find him from the air."

Tai sighed. "Ok, so we'll just have to keep looking for him on foot. Now, what's the good news?"

The dragon Digimon smiled. "I know where we are."

Immediately, the others were in his personal space. "Where?!" they demanded.

Shoutmon held up his hands. "Whoa, whoa, back up a bit. Now, I don't know _exactly_ where we are, but I have a general idea. I saw a place called Spiral Mountain in the distance. It's a tall mountain divided into four spirals of ocean, forest, city, and wasteland. It's a well-known location in the Digital World."

"Ooook," Takato muttered, not really following. "So what does that mean?"

"Well, I don't know what side of the mountain we're on; it was too far away to tell. But if I could see it from where we are, it means we're actually closer to Cherubimon's castle than we were before."

That was some of the best news Tai heard in a long time. "Really? We're closer?"

"Yup. Actually, the data stream transported us to the _other_ side of his castle. So now we have to travel east instead of west, but, yes, we're closer than we were when the data stream picked us up."

"Awesome!" Takato cried excitedly. "Then I guess it was kind of lucky that we got caught up in it."

Davis tapped his chin. "Well, even though the distance is shorter, the journey will still be longer since we don't have Trailmon to take us there."

"Davis!" the others snapped.

"What?"

TK sighed. "Never mind. Lets just focus on the good. We're closer than we were before, and didn't wind up on some other layer after all."

"Or in the ocean," Kari pointed out.

"Yes," Tai agreed. "We got lucky on most accounts. Now, we should just worry about… about…"

He trailed off as the movement of vines moving away from them drew his attention. The others noticed where he was looking and saw this as well. Cautiously, they headed over to them.

Takato stopped. "Hey, guys, is there any particular reason we're going _towards_ the vines?"

TK pointed. "It looks like they're going after something. Someone might need help."

"It could be Leomon," Kari suggested, "or one of his friends."

"Or Argomon," Tai added.

His look-alike immediately perked up. "I hope so. I suddenly got a green thumb, and am in the mood to do some weeding."

They followed the moving vines. Soon they saw flashing lights from beyond a wall of vegetation, as if someone were firing off attacks. There were cries of some kind, but nothing that was said could be made out.

The teens exchanged uncertain looks. They glanced at Shoutmon, who shook his head and backed away with his hands up, palms open. All attention then shifted to Tai and the torch in his hand.

Sighing the eldest teen took out his Digivice, prepared to Spirit Evolve if he needed to. The others followed suit and approached the wall of vines. Tai held out his torch, and the vines recoiled from the flames, creating an opening.

From the other side, whoever was there must have seen the opening appear, because they suddenly came bursting through. Tai had the wind knocked out of him and fell to the ground as whoever it was crashed into him. He groaned, preparing to Spirit Evolve, until he saw what was standing on this chest. It was one of the strangest looking Digimon they had seen yet. Not that the others had been normal, but this one had a very bizarre appearance. "Hide me!"

Davis rushed forward, thrusting his Digivice out at the Digimon. "Stay back, pal, unless you're looking for a fight!"

TK quickly looked up what the Digimon Analyzer on his Digivice had to say. "Chill out, Davis. That's Damemon. He's a Rookie level mutant Digimon and is pretty much harmless, though he does have some firepower at his disposal."

Tai blinked as he stared at the mutant Digimon. "Damemon? Well, that was quite an entrance."

"You've got to hide me!" it repeated, grabbing the boy's shirt and shaking him violently. "HIDE ME!"

Takato held his hands out. "Whoa, hey, everything's ok. The vines won't come near us as long as we have the fire."

Damemon looked at him desperately. "No, not from the vines. From-"

A beam suddenly struck the mutant Digimon from behind. It cried out as it began glowing and became pixelated. The teens stared, especially Tai, since it was him Damemon was standing on, as the mutant Digimon's glowing form changed shape.

When the light faded, Damemon was gone, and what appeared to be a mechanical pig Digimon with a large pink snout and a propeller for a tail was in its place. It was a little bigger than Damemon had been, yet the transition seemed to be some form of DeDigivolution.

The image of Damemon on TK's Digivice changed to that of the pig Digimon. "Huh? Now he's Oinkmon, a Digimon with no level and no attacks of its own."

Shoutmon's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Oinkmon? They're the most pathetic and useless of all Digimon. No one has Oinkmon in their Digivolution line; its basically a blank slate. How did…?"

They looked in the direction the beam had come from. Standing in the opening of vines Damemon had come through was a purple alien-like Digimon no bigger than Shoutmon. A single green eye was visible on its helmet-covered elongated head, the other hidden beneath its visor, and it had what seemed to be a cuff with a chain on its neck.

Oinkmon squealed, seemingly unable to talk in this form, and took off as fast as its little legs could trot. The alien Digimon jumped through the opening and rushed after it. The two disappeared behind another series of vines hanging down like a curtain. Just before the alien Digimon was obscured by the vines, it pounced, and the pig Digimon squealed. Several more squeal were heard, followed by what seemed to be the sound of data being absorbed, only different from when Shoutmon did it.

The teens stared, not quite sure what happened. They turned to Shoutmon for answers, but the dragon Digimon seemed confused as well.

Tai got to his feet. "What was that?"

Shoutmon shook his head. "I'm not sure. It happened so fast. But that looked like…"

From behind the curtain of vines, the alien Digimon emerged. Its one visible eye gazed at the teens curiously, finally landing on Takato. "Gubi."

The boy blinked. "Um, Gubi?" He glanced at Shoutmon. "What's Gubi?"

But the dragon Digimon didn't seem to be paying attention. "Oh, crap. Guys, back away slowly."

"Gubi," the alien Digimon repeated.

Takato pointed at himself. "Uh, no, Takato."

The Digimon cocked its head to the side. "Takato?"

"Guys," Shoutmon whispered a little more urgently as he slowly walked backwards, "get away from him. That's Vemmon."

TK looked at his Digivice again. "Vemmon?" The reading changed. "Here it is." His eyes widened at what he read. "Vemmon, a cannibalistic Rookie level Digimon. He possesses the power to turn others into Oinkmon and consume them to gain their strength."

"I eat other Digimon and become stronger," Vemmon confirmed.

Kari's hands went to her mouth. "That's repulsive!"

"Well, there are carnivorous Digimon," Davis pointed out, although he too looked uneasy.

Shoutmon shook his head. "That's different. He doesn't eat like that. Trust me, guys, you don't want to mess with him. Vemmon is practically emotionless and without morals. He has no real concept of right and wrong. It's best just to avoid him unless you want to end up as an Oinkmon."

Almost as if to prove the dragon Digimon right about his lack of morality, Vemmon cocked his head to the side and announced, "I'll oinkify and eat you too."

He fired a beam from his three-clawed hand. The teens jumped to the side, avoiding the attack. Shoutmon quickly threw a _Fiery Fastball_ that exploded against the ground by the alien Digimon's feet, knocking him back and bringing up a cloud of dust and smoke. "Run!"

As used to this as they were tired of it, the teens turned and fled. A cry of "Gubi!" came from within the cloud of smoke as several beams began flying about. Fortunately, none hit the group, and they quickly put some distance between themselves and the cannibalistic alien Digimon.

Ducking behind a pillar of entwined vines, the group hid from Vemmon's view. They heard the alien Digimon rush over to where they were, then pause as he looked around. "Gubi?"

A few seconds passed, and then they heard him walk away in search of them elsewhere. Sighs of relief were emitted before Davis' eyes narrowed in irritation. "Wait, this guy's only a Rookie. Some of us are Ultimates. So why are we the ones running?"

Reaching up, Shoutmon flicked his forehead. "This is not a matter of strength. You want to end up as an Oinkmon? If you think you're strong enough to resist the effects of his attack, then feel free to engage him in battle. If not, then shut up and stay down."

"Gubi." The sound came from above them on the other side of the vines. Vemmon had climbed up the pillar of twisted green tentacles and was now looking around. Shoutmon placed a finger to his lips to silence the others.

The surrounding vines prevented Vemmon from seeing too far in the distance, and he quickly got fed up. Smacking away a reaching vine, he hopped down and continued his search on foot. He may not have seen his quarry, but he suspected they were nearby.

Slowly, Takuya peaked out from behind the vines. He saw that Vemmon's back was to them and whispered as much to his friends. "Maybe we should attack him while his back is turned."

"And risk being turned into Oinkmon?" said Takato. He shook his head. "No, thank you. Lets just wait for him to leave."

Kari's thoughts turned to the poor Damemon that had been turned into an Oinkmon and then consumed. "Hey, Shoutmon, if Vemmon does turn someone into an Oinkmon, is there a way to turn them back?"

The dragon Digimon wobbled his hand in a 'sort of' type of way. "There's three ways that I know of, unless you manage to convince Vemmon to change you back, but that's not that likely. You could either somehow get strong enough to Digivolve out of the Oinkmon stage, you could simply die and start over as a Digi-Egg, or you could find another Digimon that can cure status ailments or neutralize attack effects."

"But we're human," said TK. "We can't Digivolve, and we don't come back to life after we die."

Shoutmon nodded. "Meaning your only other option would be to find a Digimon that can turn you back." He looked around at the jungle of vines. "And looking at where we are, the odds of that aren't too good. Still want to risk fighting him?"

"Well, we can't just wait around here," Takuya grumbled. "He could find us at any moment."

Tai sighed. "He's right. So listen, here's what I'll do. I'll grab him while his back is turned so he can't fire that beam. Shoutmon, that's when you'll attack."

The dragon Digimon pointed to himself. "What? You want _me_ to attack him."

"You're both Rookies, right? You should be equal in terms of power."

Shoutmon shook his head. "Vemmon is unique in that sense. He may be a Rookie, but depending on how many Digimon he's eaten, he could be as strong as a Champion."

"Shoutmon!"

A grumble escaped him, and he threw his hands in the air. "Alright, fine, I'll do it. Just make sure you secure his arms. I don't want him firing that Oinkmon beam at me."

Kari gave her brother a worried look. "Tai…"

He flashed her a reassuring smile. "It'll be ok." He looked at TK beside her. "Keep her safe."

The blonde boy nodded. "I will."

Tai nodded his thanks and handed him the torch. "Hang onto this then."

As Davis fumed, Tai slowly began climbing the vines, being as quiet as possible. When he was a good ten feet in the air, he began to circle around. Vemmon still had his back turned and was wandering around in search of the others. Tai took a deep breath and leapt off the vines, reaching for the alien Digimon as he came down.

Vemmon whirled around and fired a beam up at him. Tai cried out as the beam struck him and he began glowing. His cry became a squeal as he was transformed into an Oinkmon.

"TAI!" Kari screamed as her brother hit the ground, now in the form of the pig Digimon. Her cry drew Vemmon's attention, and Shoutmon used the opportunity to rush out and strike the alien Digimon with his _Rock and Roller_ , knocking him away from the transformed Tai. He followed up with a _Fiery Fastball_ , blasting Vemmon before he even hit the ground.

He turned to the others as they hurried to Tai's side. "Get him out of here!" He looked back at the fallen Vemmon. "I've gotta finish him before he recovers."

He leapt up into the air towards him, bringing his mic down. The alien Digimon rolled to the side, and Shoutmon's mic hit the ground where he had been laying, cracking it. Vemmon's hand shot out, grabbing Shoutmon's leg, and the dragon Digimon cried out. Slowly, the injuries he had inflicted on the alien Digimon began to heal as he sucked Shoutmon's energy.

"Shoutmon!" Takato cried. He looked around and spotted a creeping vine. Knowing it was risky, he grabbed it and threw it at Vemmon. It landed over his head and immediately began to coil around him.

Vemmon released Shoutmon and began fighting with the vine as Takuya hurried over to help the dragon Digimon to his feet. "You ok?"

Dizzy swirls were in Shoutmon's eyes. "He drained my energy; I feel woozy."

There was no time to waste, and Takuya simply scooped him up. "Lets get out of here."

He hurried over to the others, who were still gathered around Tai, or Oinkmon as he now was. With tears in her eyes, Kari looked to the dragon Digimon in Takuya's arms. "Help him!"

Shoutmon shook his head to clear it. "There's nothing I can do. Lets just get out of here before we all get oinkified. We can figure out how to help Porky later."

To big to be carried for long, Oinkmon ran along side the others as best as he could on his stumpy legs. A few meters away, Vemmon finally managed to rip apart the vine ensnaring him and throw it away. "You're not going anywhere. Gubi."

He leapt after them, bouncing on his reverse-jointed legs, firing more beams after them. Still carrying Shoutmon, Takuya ended up tripping. As the two hit the ground, Shoutmon rolled away, but Takuya landed flat on his stomach.

"Mine!" Vemmon declared, and fired a beam.

Realizing that his friend wouldn't be able to escape, Shoutmon threw a _Fiery Fastball_. It collided with Vemmon's attack, and the two exploded. Vemmon jumped over the blast and fired another beam, this time aiming at Shoutmon.

A loud squeal was heard as Oinkmon slammed into the dragon Digimon, knocking him out of the way. The beam struck, and the pixelated glowing transformation was repeated. The teens looked on with hope, praying Tai would return to normal.

Alas, it was not to be so; he remained an Oinkmon. Vemmon seemed to understand what he had tried to do and shook a clawed finger at him. "Ah, ah, ah. Gubi."

Snorting angrily, Oinkmon suddenly charged at him. Vemmon's one visible eye widened in surprise as the pig Digimon tackled him, actually managing to knock him down. It was surprising to say the least. Oinkmon were docile Digimon by nature of little use or importance other than for him to devour. He never would have expected one to try and attack him. Being as weak as they were, they only ever fled from a fight.

As he contemplated this, Shoutmon jumped over the pig Digimon and unleashed his _Bellow Blaster_. The burst of energy flowed over the alien Digimon, and he went tumbling backwards.

Davis punched the air. "Yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about! See, he's not so tough."

It seemed though, that Vemmon was just getting started. Getting to his feet, he dusted himself off and glared at them with his one visible eye. "You're stronger than I thought. Gubi. I underestimated you. Gubi."

Takato couldn't take it anymore; he was dying to know. "What is Gubi?"

The alien Digimon ignored him. "But I'm stronger than you think too. I only went to my Rookie form because it's easier to get through all these vines at a smaller size. Gubi. _Vemmon Digivolve to… Snatchmon!"_

Before their very eyes, the alien Digimon now stood at the Champion level. He still resembled a purple humanoid creature with a visor helmet, only much more vicious looking, and with a long, thick tail-like tentacle hung from the back of his head.

Shoutmon took a step back. "Come on. He could Digivolve all along? Weak."

Takato checked his Digivice. "Snatchmon, an extremely powerful Champion Digimon with the ability to condense and consume data, including other Digimon. It says he can also combine with technology and control it."

Takuya took a step back as well. "Than lets be glad that we're not near any technology."

TK looked around at all the vines. "Maybe we are, beneath all this vegetation."

Snatchmon raised a clawed finger. "I don't need to combine with anything to take you." He fired a beam similar to the one he had used as Vemmon. Shoutmon held up his mic to block it. He pushed against the beam for a few moments before he managed to deflect it.

The beam struck a curtain of vines and erupted into a sphere of energy. Everything within the sphere as broken down into data particles and then condensed into a ball of data similar to the data dust balls they had seen floating around. It floated overt to Snatchmon, and he immediately consumed it.

TK gulped. "I see what you mean by the ability to condense and consume data."

Snatchmon looked at him. "And you're next."

He began calmly stalking over to them as if he had all the time in the world. Shoutmon held up his mic threateningly as he stood in front of his friends. Kari held onto her brother while TK moved in front of them protectively. Takuya nervously held his ground while Takato backed away, but it was Davis who stormed past Shoutmon, holding his Digivice in the air. "I've had enough of this! Time to Spirit Evolve!"

Shoutmon's mouth dropped open. "But, Davis, the vines."

"Vines, shmines. If I can't fight off a few lousy vines at the Ultimate level, then I deserve to let them get me. You guys sit tight; I'll handle this. _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Paildramon!"_

Snatchmon stopped. He cocked his head to the side curiously, recognizing Davis' Digimon form. "You became Paildramon. Interesting. Perhaps this will be more entertaining than I-"

Paildramon didn't give him a chance to finish. Using his extreme speed, he flew towards the alien Digimon, slamming his much larger fist into Snatchmon's face. The alien Digimon went flying backwards, but reached out and dug his claws into the ground, stopping his momentum. "Fine then, lets go."

Displaying great speed of his own, he raced towards Paildramon. Once in front of him, he thrust his hand out and fired a beam. But Paildramon was the faster of the two, and he avoided the attack, taking to the air. He fired his _Cable Catcher_ , but Snatchmon held up his arms to block the attack.

Lashing out with his head tentacle, the purple appendage wrapped around the dragon Digimon's leg and yanked. Paildramon caught himself before he was pulled down and fired an _Electric Bolt_. Snatchmon released him and jumped to the side. Paildramon immediately whipped out his machine guns and began flying. Snatchmon took off, outrunning the spray of bullets, even running along the wall, defying gravity. Closing the distance, he began firing more beams. Paildramon circled about in the air, dodging the beams.

Once he got close enough, Snatchmon leapt a surprisingly high distance in the air, reaching the dragon Digimon. He threw a punch, but Paildramon caught his fist. "What? No more 'gubi'?"

Snatchmon lashed out with his head tentacle, wrapping it around Paildramon's neck. With his other hand, he attempted to fire a beam at point blank range, but Paildramon suddenly leaned back, and the attack flew above him.

Snatchmon was strong, Paildramon would give him that. He'd even say his power bordered on an Ultimate, but he wasn't as strong as a true Ultimate. Reaching up, he grabbed the tentacle around his neck and pried it off. He spun around the alien Digimon around and threw him to the ground. He hit the ground with enough force to create a crater. "That'll teach you!"

But it didn't. Snatchmon jumped to his feet and began firing beams up at him. Paildramon dodged one after another, wondering when his opponent would stop with these games and fight for real. That was when he realized that Snatchmon, and even Vemmon, hadn't really tried to fight them at all. Aside from when he had drained Shoutmon's energy, he'd simply tried to turn them into Oinkmon he could eat, and now was attempting to condense them into easily edible packets of data.

' _He's more interested in ending the fight quickly,'_ he thought. _'Maybe his nature is to simply eat and get stronger rather than to actually fight.'_

In a way, that made him even more dangerous. Paildramon didn't find that to be very appealing as he dropped from the sky to avoid the beams. He landed on the ground, and a few seconds later, Snatchmon came leaping out of the crater, firing another beam. Paildramon threw an _Electric Bolt_ , and the attacks canceled each other out with an explosive blast.

As Snatchmon squinted to see through the smoke, Paildramon charged straight through it and lashed out with his _Sting Strike_. Snatchmon jumped back to avoid the lance, and Paildramon's guns came up as he unleashed his _Desperado Blaster_. Still in the air, Snatchmon was unable to avoid the attack, and the spray of bullets rained against his chest, pushing him back until he hit a wall and dropped to the ground.

Thinking his opponent was done for, Paildramon landed beside his friends. Shoutmon nudged the dragon Digimon's foot with his elbow and gave him a grin. "Nice shooting. Good thing you're fast enough to avoid his attacks."

Paildramon crossed his arms, looking entirely too smug. "Yeah, he wasn't so tough." His attention was soon drawn back by a groan from the alien Digimon. "Oops, spoke too soon."

Snatchmon was getting up. "You've impressed me. Whatever you creatures are, you're not the pushovers you seemed to be."

Paildramon proudly puffed out his chest. "We're humans, and don't you forget it."

The alien Digimon's expressionless face prevented Paildramon from guessing what he was feeling. "Humans with the power of an Ultimate. I think I'll even the playing field a bit. No more sandbagging. _Snatchmon Digivolve to-"_

"Oh no you don't!" the dragon Digimon cried. _"Electric Bolt!"_

The attack flew through the air and hit Snatchmon, interrupting his Digivolution. The light faded as the alien Digimon went flying through the air. He landed in a curtain of vines, dazed. The vines immediately set to work and began coiling around him. By the time Snatchmon realized what was happening, it was too late.

"Release me!" he snarled as more vines wrapped around him and began to secrete their sleep inducing sap. It wasn't long before Snatchmon was trapped in a pod, sleeping soundly.

"Boo-yah!" Paildramon cheered. He turned to his friends, placing his hands on his hips. "And that's how it's done!"

The cheers and applause he expected were handed out as the teens clapped. Even Oinkmon was applauding as well as his front feet would allow. The only one who didn't seem to be celebrating was Shoutmon, whose mouth was hanging open in shock, his eyes practically bugging out.

"Nice one, Paildramon," TK told him with a smile. "And look, because the vines caught Snatchmon, they're not coming after us anymore."

The dragon Digimon looked at the vines and sweat-dropped. "Uh, yeah, that was my plan all along. Now we just have to be careful not to draw their attention again." He laughed nervously at that, but the teens were now staring at him with half-lidded eyes. In an attempt to divert attention from himself, he glanced at their little friend. "Hey, Shoutmon, you ok?"

Slowly, the smaller dragon Digimon pointed. "You attacked while he was Digivolving."

Smirking, Paildramon changed back to Davis. "Yeah, pretty good strategy, huh?"

"You attacked while he was Digivolving," Shoutmon repeated.

Blinking, Davis exchanged a confused look with his friends. They shrugged, seemingly just as lost as he was. "Well, yeah. He was pretty strong as a Champion. He would have been a real problem if he reached Ultimate."

"But you _attacked_ while he was _Digivolving!_ "

Now he was beginning to get frustrated. "Ok, what's up with you? Why are you acting like this?"

"Because you attacked him while he was Digivolving. No one _ever_ attacks someone else while they're Digivolving."

Takuya made a strange face. "Why not? It seemed like a pretty smart strategy to me."

Now Shoutmon actually seemed angry with them. "You don't attack another Digimon when they're Digivolving. It's… It's just not done. It's an unspoken absolute cardinal rule. Not even the lowest of the lowest, or the most evil of evil Digimon would do that; even if it means the opposing Digimon will become stronger than them. Haven't you noticed that no one has ever attacked any of you when you Spirit Evolve? It's worse than attacking someone while they're back is turned. To even _consider_ doing such a thing would mean you're a weak, spineless, dishonorable, loser."

"Hey," Davis objected, "I'm not any of those things. And I still don't see what the big deal is. If you're going to make a gamble to become stronger by Digivolving, you should be prepared to be vulnerable for a little while." He looked at the others. "Guys, back me up here."

TK opened his mouth to defend him, but he chose his words more carefully when he saw the scowl on Shoutmon's face. "I agree that it was strategic, but while we may not see it as a bad thing, we can't forget that we're in a different world. Their ways are different from ours. It sounds like attacking someone when they're Digivolving is playing really dirty; like hitting below the belt."

"Yes!" Shoutmon cried, pointing at him. "It's like what you said. I have no idea what it means, but it's like that, only worse."

Fuming, Davis stuck his hands in his pockets and kicked at the ground. "Ok, fine, I won't do it again. Sheesh. You know, you could have told us we're not supposed to do that."

"I didn't think it was necessary," the dragon Digimon objected. "Everyone knows it. It should have been obvious."

"We're strangers in his world. We don't know how things work. We're relying on you to tell us stuff like this."

"Maybe so, but some things are just _obvious_."

"Guys!" Kari called loudly. "We have a bigger problem." She looked at Oinkmon. "Tai is stuck like this. We need to find a way to change him back."

Oinkmon squealed something in his pig language. Shoutmon just sighed and shook his head. "Sorry, pal, I can't help you. It's just not in my power."

Takato looked up at the sleeping alien Digimon. "If we destroy Snatchmon, will he change back?"

Davis rounded on him. "Hold up, we can't just kill a defenseless Digimon just to change Tai back, even if Snatchmon is bad."

The other boy quickly began waving his arms. "No, no! I wasn't suggesting we do that? I was just asking."

Shoutmon sighed again. "It won't work anyway. I wish it were that simple, but it looks like our only option is to find someone who can restore him. Perhaps Cherubimon can help when we reach his castle."

Oinkmon's head sank in despair, and Kari patted his back, "We can't just leave him like this until then. Who knows how long it will be."

TK snapped his fingers. "I've got it. Maybe Leomon or one of the friends he's looking for can help."

Kari and Oinkmon gave him a hopeful look. "You really think so?"

"It's worth a shot."

Takato made a determine fist. "Alright, then lets get searching. We've got a Leomon to find."

Takuya nodded. "Sounds great." He paused. "So… which way did he go?"

The others hesitated before looking out into the jungle of vines. Running from and fighting Snatchmon had completely turned them around. They hadn't known where they were before, but now they were well and truly lost.

 **(A/N: Oh boy, now they're in trouble. Not only are they completely lost, one of their strongest members is out of commission until further notice. The problems just keep piling up. I also threw in a theory I had about why no one ever attacks when someone is Digivolving. The only time that ever happened in the series was when the DigiDestined were fighting Infermon, but that was because Infermon had just recently been created and didn't know any better. Speaking of which, the Digimon I was talking about who's one of my favorites was Vemmon/Snatchmon, or his Mega form really. But enough about that. How will our heroes save their friend? Can they find Leomon? Will his comrades be able to turn Tai back to normal? Will they even find his comrades? And what of Argomon? More coming soon.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Snimon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Damemon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Oinkmon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Vemmon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Snatchmon**


	48. Chapter 48: Ain't No Peter Pan

**(A/N: Ok, so this chapter will be a little different from what we're used to. We're going to take, ah, I guess you could say a bit of a break in our adventure. You'll see what I mean. By the way, as strange as they are, the names and locations of the characters and places in this chapter are NOT made up, but are actual Digimon and locations in the Digital World according to character profiles and locations in the Digital World .)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 48: Ain't No Peter Pan**

Days passed by without incident, most likely due to all the Digimon in the area being trapped in pods. There was no sign of Argomon or any of his minions, nor did they find any trace of Leomon. Tai was still stuck as an Oinkmon, and it didn't look like they would be finding anyone who could help them any time soon.

Or so they thought. Someone was watching them, and they thought they could help. In fact, they had been watching for them for several days now, and had recently reported to their boss, having decided that they were suitable for their cause.

Takato was currently on watch duty. He stoked the fire, keeping it burning brightly to keep the vines away while his friends slept all around. He was grateful their Digivices could still tell time like their cellphones, and he eagerly counted down the minutes until he could get back to sleep.

A light that wasn't coming from the fire drew his attention. He looked to his right to find that the light was coming from a small fairy-like creature only a few inches tall. The tiny fairy Digimon smiled at him and waved cheerfully.

Takato blinked as he stared at his unexpected visitor. "I'm seeing fairies now?" He rub bed his eyes. "I must be more tired than I thought."

In response, the fairy Digimon flew up to his face and clapped her hands on his cheeks. "Are you awake now?"

He blinked again, all traces of sleepiness disappearing. He yelped in surprise and fell back. "Ah! You're real! You're a fairy, and you're real!"

She beamed. "Of course I'm real. I'm Tinkermon."

He couldn't believe this. Had he fallen asleep? "Hey, guys, wake up and tell me I'm not dreaming."

TK groaned. "Not so loud." He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "What's wrong? Is it my turn to keep watch?"

Takato pointed, and TK stared at the fairy Digimon. She flew over to him and hovered in front of his face upside-down. "You're kind of cute. I love blondes. What's your name?"

"Uh…" he muttered. Rather than answer, he reached out and shook Kari awake. "Hey, Kari, take a look at this."

And so it went down the line, each person waking up the other while the fairy Digimon buzzed to each of them in greeting. Even Shoutmon seemed surprised by their unexpected guest. "I've never seen a Tinkermon before."

She giggled. "We're rare."

"And adorable," Kari cooed. "Mimi would probably want to take you home with her."

Davis leaned in to get a closer look. "You sure are tiny. What level are you?"

The fairy Digimon's cheeks puffed out, and she pointed her tiny lance at him. "Call me small again, and you'll see how _big_ my temper is."

Sweat-dropping, he held up his hands. "Sorry, didn't mean anything by it."

Takuya took out his Digivice. "Hmm, Tinkermon. Here she is. A Rookie level fairy Digimon. Better watch out, Davis, she wears a paralytic nail polish on her nails. Her special attack is _Speed Nightmare_ , and she has the power to turn Digimon into their Baby forms."

Tinkermon's mood immediately changed as she turned to him. "I _love_ Babies! They're so cute!" She eyed his Digivice with interest. "Ooh, let me see."

Flying over, she unexpectedly snatched the Digivice out of his hands. Takuya cried out in protest as she took to the air. As cheerful as ever, she read her description on the device and giggled happily. "Yes, yes! That's just like me! I wonder if they have…" She pushed a few buttons, and the image changed. "Ah! It has him! Petermon!"

The others stared up at her. "Petermon?" they chorused.

"Did someone say my name?" Zooming down from the sky was another Digimon. He looked like a human boy dressed completely in green with some fairy-like features. He flew up beside Tinkermon, looking at the Digivice she was holding with interest. "What're you holding there?"

Being small enough, she sat down on his shoulder. "Don't know, but it tells about us. Here's you. Petermon, a Champion level Digimon, special attack _Swipe Swing._ "

"It knows me so well," Petermon joked.

Davis stared at the pair in disbelief. "Wait, Petermon, Tinkermon?" He looked at the others. "Is this a joke? Is there a Hookmon too?"

"Ah!" Petermon exclaimed. "My old nemesis. He and I used to fight quite often, but then he gave up on trying to defeat me after his ship was destroyed by the white Whamon, so he decided to go after it instead."

TK raised an eyebrow. "A white Whamon?"

Shoutmon nodded. "Sometimes there are anomalies in a Digimon's data that cause them to turn different colors than usual. Remember LadyDevimon? I've seen a red one before."

Davis' mouth was hanging open, and he too looked at Shoutmon. "He's kidding, right? There's not really a Hookmon, is there?"

Again, the dragon Digimon nodded. "Yeah, and he can Digivolve to CaptainHookmon."

Davis threw his hands in the air. "That's it! I give up. This world is just too ridiculous." He cut his eyes at the two fairy Digimon. "And I suppose you live in a place called Neverland, right?"

Petermon crossed his arms. "Of course not."

On his shoulder, Tinkermon beamed. "We live in Never-Ever Land."

Davis' eye twitched. "Eh?"

"It's actually why we've come here," Petermon explained. "Tinkermon here has been watching you for a few days now, and she thinks you'll be perfect."

"Ooook," Takato muttered uncertainly. "Perfect for what?"

The male fairy Digimon twirled around and pointed up. "Why Never-Ever Land, of course. It's the floating island passing overhead right now. Tinkermon and I created it as a land for children. We welcome all Rookie Digimon and below that refuse to Digivolve and just want to have fun. I know that you're humans, but you're also children, so of course you're all welcome. And Shoutmon, you're a Rookie, so you can come too. We'll even allow your Oinkmon friend to come."

The pig Digimon squealed in protest, and Kari patted him on the back. "This is actually my brother. He was turned into an Oinkmon by Vemmon."

"Huh. You don't say." He sounded completely uninterested. "So, what's it going to be? You wanna come?"

"Pleeease," Tinkermon begged.

Takuya held out his hand. "Um, can I have my Digivice back?"

"Mine!" the fairy Digimon cried and flew off.

Petermon chuckled. "Don't mind her. She's really possessive. I'll get it back for you later." He did a backflip in the air. "So, what's it to be?"

The teens looked at each other. TK glanced at Shoutmon. "What do you think?"

The dragon Digimon crossed his arms. "I don't know. I've heard certain things about this guy."

Tinkermon suddenly flew back over to them. "Oh, lighten up. _Fairy Powder!"_ She threw a handful of powder at Shoutmon. He cried out as it hit him in the face. He cried out and began glowing. His shining form shrank and changed shape. When the light faded, he was nothing more than a small round head.

"Ah!" Takato cried, jumping away. "What happened to him?"

Giggling, Tinkermon brought Shoutmon's current form up on Takuya's Digivice. "Look, he's now Jyarimon, a Baby level Digimon. Isn't he cute?"

Kari's eyes were practically shining. "He sure is." Bending down, she scooped him up in her hands; he was only a little bit bigger than a baseball. "Hi, Jyarimon."

But the new Baby level Digimon began hopping up and down in her hands angrily. "This isn't funny! Change me back! Change me back!"

"Relax," Tinkermon told him. "It'll wear off soon enough. Then you'll be back to your normal stupid self soon."

Jyarimon stopped bouncing. "Stupid?"

The fairy flew in front of him. Her eyes began glowing as they locked with his beady black ones. "Everything is fine. There's no need to get upset. Lets all just have fun together."

Jyarimon's expression slowly went blank. "Yes, that sounds like fun," he said in a monotone voice. "Lets all go."

Tinkermon's eyes stopped glowing and she beamed. "Great! It's decided then!"

TK frowned slightly as he stared at the slime Digimon. "Hey, Jyarimon, you ok?"

Seeming to come back to his senses, he hopped out of Kari's hands and began bouncing up and down eagerly. "Oh, yeah, I'm great! Come one, let's go! We should go right now!"

TK still seemed wary, and he glanced at Kari questioningly. "Well," she said with some hesitation, "it'd be good to get out of this vine forest for a while. I suppose we could stay for the night and get some real sleep without worrying about getting attacked."

"Sleep?" Petermon exclaimed, pulling out his sword and pointing it at the sky. "Who needs sleep on a night like this? Let's go!" Flying down, he grabbed Takato by the collar of his shirt. "Everyone, grab hold of each other."

He began lifting Takato into the air. Takuya and Davis each grabbed one of his legs and were lifted into the air as well, allowing TK and Kari to grab onto their legs. As they were lifted up, Tinkermon flew beneath Oinkmon and began lifting him up.

"Wait for me!" Jyarimon cried, jumping onto Oinkmon's back. And then they were off, flying up and past the vines, into the night sky.

"Hey, there's no Snimon up here now," Takato noted. "Are they sleeping?"

Tinkermon giggled as she carried Oinkmon and Jyarimon over them. "Those sillies? I turned them into Babies. But since they were Champions, they obviously don't want to stay children, so they're not welcome."

"That's right," Petermon confirmed. "No one in Never-Ever Land but me is allowed to Digivolve past the Rookie level."

His warning rang in the teens' ears, and they shared a look, silently coming to an understanding that they would not be Spirit Evolving.

"And there it is! The male fairy Digimon declared as they came to a great flying rock formation. Flying up and over it, the teens saw that it was indeed a floating island. It had a massive lake in the center, surrounded by a forest that went on for miles. Past the forest, circling around the rim of the island, was what seemed to be a carnival full of rides, games, and other activities.

As the two fairy Digimon went in for a landing, the teens indeed saw that there were Baby, In-Training, and Rookie level Digimon everywhere. Jyarimon seemed very excited and hopped off of Oinkmon's back. "Alright! This place looks like a blast."

"I'll say," TK agreed as Petermon came down low enough for him and Kari, followed by Takuya and Davis, to let go. "You two actually built all this?"

"Of course!" Petermon cried happily, keeping hold of Takato. "It's a place for everyone who refuses to grow up to come and have fun forever! Or until they decide to grow up." His eyes narrowed. "However, there's a price to pay for coming here. And you will be paying it first."

Takato gulped nervously. "Um… pay how?"

Petermon continued to glare, but then his playfulness returned. "By contributing to the fun." He flew over and dropped Takato into a tank. He landed on a wooden seat above the water. Cupping his hands over his mouth, Petermon announced, "The dunking booth is now open!"

There were cheers as several Digimon hurried over, forming a line in front of the tank. Takato's mouth dropped open as he stared at the line. "You've got to be kidding me."

Floating upside-down, Petermon waved a finger at him. "Sorry, but everyone has to pay their do's. I'll consider yours paid after a thousand dunks, then one of your friends can take your place."

Takato sweat-dropped. "A-A thousand?"

Tinkermon flew over, still carrying Oinkmon. "What about this one?"

Petermon looked at him as the pig Digimon squealed in protest. "Give him a beard, an eye patch, and a pirate hat, then put him in the pie-in-the-face booth. His do's will be done after a thousand pies in the face."

Oinkmon continued to protest as Takuya raised his hand. "Um, are we going to have to do stuff like that too?"

Petermon did a flip in the air. "Of course. Everyone that comes here has had to pay their do's. Best to do them quickly and get them over with." He stared at Takuya for a few moments, then smiled. "I've got the perfect one for you. Tinkermon."

She giggled. "My thoughts exactly. Follow me."

She took off, carrying the squealing Oinkmon as Jyarimon hopped off his back. The boy hesitated, glancing uncertainly at Takato in the dunking booth. Petermon came up behind him and gave him a push forward. Takuya sighed and followed after the fairy Digimon. Petermon waved goodbye to them happily as they left.

Turning to the others, he winked at them. "When they're done paying their do's, you guys can do Rock, Paper, Scissor or something to decide who does what booth next. Same quota for each of you. Once you're done, feel free to do whatever you want. Enjoy Never-Ever Land!"

He flew off in the opposite direction of Tinkermon, and the remaining teens and Jyarimon were left amongst all the Digimon and the endless supply of activities. They exchanged looks, wondering what they should do.

"Well," said Davis, "I'm not so tired anymore."

TK gave Kari a smile. "I suppose we could use a day of fun. What do you say?"

She returned the smile. "Sounds like a good idea."

With a cheer, the three went off to enjoy the festivities, Jyarimon close behind. In the dunking booth, Takato gave them a pleading look. "Don't leave me…" A moment later, a Rookie Digimon hit the target and he splashed down into the water. Coming up, he spit out a mouthful of water and sighed. "Only 999 more to go."

Sufficient to say, Takato, Takuya, and Oinkmon weren't having as much fun as the others. As they counted down their quota, the other three and Jyarimon enjoyed the festivities. Tinkermon had joined them as they ran about the floating island, truly able to let lose and have fun for once since coming to the Digital World. It was a much needed reprieve from the constant traveling and occasional battles.

They eventually came across the location Tinkermon had brought Takuya to. He was currently strapped to a spinning wheel with his arms and legs out in an X formation as Digimon threw tomatoes at him. Globs of tomatoes fell from his clothes and dizzy swirls were present in his eyes as he spun clockwise.

TK waved. "How's it going?"

Takuya glared at him as the wheel stopped spinning. "Oh, just great. This is definitely the highlight of our adventure."

Davis grinned broadly. "Well, I certainly think so." His grin widened. "I think I'm going to get in on this."

"You got it," said the Digimon at the booth known as Kotemon. He brought Davis a bucket of tomatoes, then went over to Takuya and spun the wheel he was on.

"Davis!" the boy snarled as a tomato splattered by his shoulder. "When it's you're turn to pay your do's, I'm going all out on you."

"What number are you at?" Kari asked as she tried to stop smiling.

"Um, 116." One of Davis' tomatoes splattered against his face. With a grumble, he shook his head. "Make that 117."

"Bulls eye!" Davis cheered, punching the air, and the others couldn't resist chuckling.

Takuya glared at them. His eyes landed on Tinkermon sitting on Kari's head and narrowed. He noticed she wasn't holding his Digivice anymore. "Hey, where's my Digivice?"

The tiny fairy Digimon pointed at him. "Mine now. It's in my special hiding place."

Kari chuckled. "We'll be sure to get it from her before we leave."

Leaving Takuya to finish paying his do's, they walked off to find more activities. Davis was a little more eager than TK and Kari, running ahead to each ride. "Hey, lets go on that giant Ferris wheel there," he suggested after they got off the spinning teacups.

Tinkermon flew over and landed on his head. "You can see the whole island from up there."

"We already did," Kari pointed out. "But I'm up for it. You?"

TK shrugged. "Sure, why not."

Davis beamed. "Great. I get to share a car with Kari. TO, you can go wit Jyarimon."

The other two sweat-dropped as Jyarimon bounded up and down. "We can all fit in the same car. Come on, it's more fun going together."

But Davis had already taken off, Tinkermon riding on his head. Jyarimon, TK, and Kari went after him at a slower pace. It was then that they came to the only ride that no one else seemed interest in riding. Jyarimon kept going, but TK and Kari came to a stop. They were right beside what was undoubtedly a Tunnel of Love. Catching each other's eye, they looked away, blushing.

"Hey, what's the hold up?" Davis demanded as he hurried back over to them. "Come on, after the Ferris wheel, we can do the roller coaster; it circles the entire island."

TK tried to look anywhere but at Kari or the romantic boat ride. "Sure, sounds good."

On top of Davis' head, Tinkermon suddenly jumped up and pointed. "Wait, lets do that first."

They looked to where she was pointing. Davis raised an eyebrow. "The House of Mirrors?"

"Yeah, come on." She grabbed him by the hair and began dragging him along. TK and Kari shrugged before following, Jyarimon close behind.

It was a standard funhouse of mirrors, much like the kind found in the Real World. Some mirrors were normal, others distorted their reflections in strange and unusual ways, others reflected their reflections, making it seem as if they were in an endless hall filled with clones, both distorted and normal.

At one point, it almost became a maze. Mirrors were everywhere, on the ceilings, the floors, the walls, and the rooms took odd shapes, ranging from circular to octagons. Tinkermon chose this moment to take off, leaving the four to find their own way out.

"Hey, this mirror makes me look like a square," Jyarimon laughed.

"And look at this one," said Davis, striking a pose that caused his reflection to look overly buff.

"Hey, guys," said Kari, standing in front of another mirror that greatly distorted her lower body. "Do these pants make my butt look big?"

TK smiled at his reflection, the top of his head looking gigantic. "And look at me. I bet I'm smarter than Izzy and Ken put together."

They laughed amongst themselves, enjoying the mirrors. More than once they ran into a mirror, thinking the reflection had actually been one of them, laughing it off afterwards. None of them noticed as Tinkermon flew over them, whispering quietly. _"Fairy Powder…"_

The sparkling dust rained down. So caught up in the mirrors and their laughter, none of them noticed it, and their distorted reflections prevented them from seeing the changes they were undergoing.

"I think we're almost out," said Davis, not noticing the change in his voice.

TK did, however, and he soon found the real Davis amongst all the distorted reflections. "Davis, you're a baby."

Taken aback, Davis rounded on him, thinking he was being insulted. "Who are you calling a baby, you baby!" That was when he finally noticed. "Ah, I'm a baby! Look!"

TK examined himself. He too had grown down. Looking at Kari, he saw that she had as well. They had all been reduced to little kids! The startling revelation ruined the fun time they were having, and they ran for the exit.

Bursting outside, they fell over, landing in one big pile. Jyarimon hopped out after them, looking surprised by their transformations. "What happened to you guys?"

Grumbling, Davis crawled out from beneath the other two. "That's what I'd like to know. How come we all got younger?"

Tinkermon flew over to them, smiling as if nothing were wrong. "Wasn't that fun? Want to try the bumper cars next? Or how about the ball pit? They're right there."

The children looked from the fairy Digimon to Jyarimon. Recalling how he ended up in his Baby form, things started to make sense.

Kari got up and dusted herself off. "Did you turn us into little kids?"

Tinkermon nonchalantly looked away. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Davis pointed an accusing finger at her. "You liar! You used your pixie dust stuff on us, didn't you?"

The fairy Digimon turned back to them, her eyes glowing. "Everything is fine. There's no problem. We're all just having a good time. Right?"

The children's eyes became hooded. "A good time," they repeated dreamily, emotionlessly.

Tinkermon turned to Jyarimon, her eyes still glowing. "Right?"

"Right," the slime Digimon answered in a monotone voice. "Everything's fine."

The fairy Digimon beamed again. The three children seemed to have completely forgotten that they had been reduced to near toddler age as they ran and played. Tinkermon continued to fly close by, taking part in the activities too.

Hours ticked by, yet there was no end to the fun. At least there hadn't been until a loud commotion that had drawn a crowd caught the children's attention.

"Hey, what's happening over there?" TK asked.

"Lets go see," said Davis. "I'll race ya!"

It was ironic that he wanted to race, for the commotion was due to the result of a race. Apparently, there had been a go-cart race that went all throughout Never-Ever Land. Two Digimon were arguing over it. The more timid of the two, a Digimon known as Bearmon, was making accusations against a Digimon called DemiDevimon. "I'm telling you, he cheated. After I passed him, he used his _Demi Dart_ on my tire so I would crash."

The mini devil Digimon just sneered arrogantly. "Ah, quit being a sore loser."

Up in the commentator's box, the two Digimon, Bokomon and Neemon, were having their own debate over what had happened. "It seems a heated argument is underway on whether or not DemiDevimon cheated his way to victory. Bear in mind that he has had a reputation of being a cheater, but since he's sworn to never do so again… well, we all know what happens if someone breaks their word around here."

"They lose their friends' trust?" Neemon asked.

Bokomon grabbed his co-commenter's trousers, pulled them back, and released so they snapped against Neemon's side. "No, you twit! They'll have to answer to the boss."

The argument continued. Bearmon continued to insist that DemiDevimon was a cheater while the mini devil Digimon arrogantly insisted that he did no such thing. "You can't prove anything."

"Enough!" an angry voice cried. Flying down from the sky, Petermon came in for a landing. He looked angrily from Bearon to DemiDevimon and placed his hands on his hips. "This is a place to have fun. There's no reason to fight like this. What's the problem?"

Bearmon pointed at the mini devil Digimon. "He cheated again, Petermon."

"Liar!" DemiDevimon snapped. "He's just upset because he crashed his go-cart and lost the race. Don't be a poor sport." He gave Petermon a look that was clearly meant to be him sucking up. "Come on, boss. You know I promised never to cheat again, and we never break our promises here."

Petermon crossed his arms. "Do we?" He looked out at the crowd. "Is there anyone here who can tell us what really happened?"

A few seconds of silence passed, and then a Digimon stepped forward. "Um, I can. I saw the race from the air."

Petermon turned to them. "Very well, Falcomon, tell us. Did DemiDevimon cheat?"

The owl Digimon shifted uncomfortably. "Yes… he did. I didn't say anything because… well, you know…"

Petermon laid a hand on his shoulder. "Yes, I know, but rules are rules." He looked at DemiDevimon. "We always keep our promises, or else."

The mini devil Digimon backed away nervously. "C-Come on. It was just a little slip."

"The cheating is not so important," Petermon told him. "It's the breaking of your promise that's the real issue."

DemiDevimon began to panic. "I promise, it won't happen again."

"That's what you said before."

"Y-Yeah, but this time I promise not to break my promise."

"If you break one promise, you'll break another… unless there are consequences."

The children looked on with growing unease. Something had changed in Petermon. All playfulness had vanished, and there was now an empty, unfeeling look in his eyes, as if something were missing from deep within.

Turning back to the crowd, Petermon addressed them. "Promises are sacred here. We never break a promise. We all know what happens if we do. And what is it?"

"Pretend Punishment," the Digimon chorused.

The fairy Digimon looked back at DemiDevimon, his expression cold and merciless. "Pretend Punishment!"

Without warning, his foot shot out and slammed into DemiDevimon's face. The children cried out in surprise as the mini devil Digimon toppled over backwards. Petermon's foot shot out again, kicking him away. Digimon scattered as DemiDevimon hit the ground, and Petermon stalked over to him. "This is your Pretend Punishment."

He began stomping down repeatedly on DemiDevimon's back. Kari held onto TK in horror as the two boys stared in open shock as Petermon mercilessly beat the mini devil Digimon.

"This… isn't right," said Davis, feeling as if he were coming out of a daze. "We have to stop this."

Beside him, Jyarimon seemed to be returning to his senses as well. "Now I remember! This is the drawback to Petermon's purity. He may be innocent and naïve, but that causes him to have an inner brutality that he unleashes on those that break their promises."

Kari buried her face deeper into TK's shirt. He held her back just as tightly. "We have to do something."

Tinkermon suddenly appeared in front of them, her eyes glowing. "Don't worry… it's just Pretend Punishment. Once it's over, we can all have fun again, and DemiDevimon will have learned a valuable lesson and won't break his promises anymore."

The four of them immediately fell under her spell once more. "Yes," they chorused, "breaking your promises is bad."

Petermon finally stopped stomping down on the mini devil Digimon, but he wasn't done yet. Kicking him onto his back, he knelt over him. "You brought this upon yourself. Never break your word."

His fists began raining down on DemiDevimon's face over and over again. The mini devil Digimon could do nothing other than take the beating. All around, the crowd watched without raising a hand to help, not even the three human children or Jyarimon.

 **(A/N: Quite a dark way to end the chapter, I know. It looks like this Never-Ever Land isn't all sunshine and daisies. And no, I did not make it up. This was all in Petermon's description, Never-Ever Land, his rivalry with Hookmon, his Pretend Punishment, everything in this chapter that he and Tinkermon do. And now four of our heroes are stuck as little kids under Tinkermon's spell while the others are stuck paying their do's. Perhaps they would have been better off staying in the vine forest. Stay tuned to see what happens next.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) below with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Tinkermon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Petermon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Jyarimon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Kotemon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Bearmon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/DemiDevimon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Bokomon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Neemon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Falcomon**


	49. Chapter 49: Babies and Bubbles

**(A/N: We left off at a bit of a cliffhanger last chapter with Petermon revealing his more brutal side while Davis, TK, and Kari were turned into little kids and placed under Tinkermon's spell. Uch, I still can't believe some of these guys. Petermon, Tinkermon, seriously? But hey, it worked for my story. Lets see what will happen next.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 49: Babies and Bubbles**

"Stop it!" a voice cried out.

Petermon stopped beating DemiDevimon and turned to finding a soaking wet Takato and a tomato covered Takuya running over to them, the former having been the one who shouted. Petermon stood up, leaving the wounded DemiDevimon on the ground, grumbling in pain. "Hey, you guys are supposed to be paying your do's." He cocked his head to the side. "Did you already meet your quota?"

"Forget your stupid do's," Takuya snapped. "What are you doing?"

Petermon honestly looked like he didn't know what he was talking about. "What do you mean?" He glanced at DemiDevimon. "You mean this? He broke a promise he made to never cheat again. I had to administer Pretend Punishment."

"Pretend Punishment?" Takato repeated in disbelief. "What's 'pretend' about this? You're beating the guy!"

"He'll live," the fairy Digimon replied with a shrug. "And, hopefully, he'll learn to keep his promises."

Takuya's fists clenched. "That's it, we're out of here. Where are our friends?"

Davis raised his hand. "Here we are."

The two boys turned and their mouths dropped open as they took in Davis, TK, and Kari's appearances. "What happened to you?" Takato cried. "You're all little kids!"

Tinkermon flew over to them. "Of course. It's a lot more fun being kids."

Takuya glared at her. "You did this to them. Change them back. And give me back my Digivice too."

The fairy Digimon pouted. "Oh, you're no fun."

Petermon shrugged, as if he didn't understand. "You can leave if you want. No one's keeping you here. But don't make them leave just because you want to go."

Pouting, Tinkermon looked at the children. "You don't want to go, do you?"

"No," they chorused in monotone voices. "It's fun here; we want to stay."

"What?" Takato cried. "We can't stay here. We have to go home."

Takuya glanced at Petermon. "And how can you want to stay after watching what he just did?"

"Because it's fun here," they once more replied.

Takato sighed. His friend Henry's sister, Suzie, and her two friends, Ai and Mako, not to mention his girlfriend's little brother, Masahiko, were only a few years older than Davis, TK, and Kari currently were, and they were difficult enough to deal with. "Guys, having fun is fine, but we've got to go now. We can't have fun all the time."

Petermon blinked. "You can't?"

Takato rounded on him. "No, you can't. So cut the games and change them back."

"Relax," the fairy Digimon told them. "They'll change back once Tinkermon's power wears off."

"But I can always hit them with another," Tinkermon sang. "Being little is better, right?"

"Yes," the children chanted. "Much better."

Takuya's eyes narrowed. "They're not just little kids again, they're under some kind of spell. Takato, it's time to get serious." He glared at Tinkermon. "I'd help you out, but she still has my Digivice hidden away somewhere."

Takato pulled out his. "Right. Leave it to me. _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Growlmon!"_

The smaller of the fairy Digimon gasped and flew back as Petermon's eyes widened. "Growlmon? You're a Champion?"

"That's right, pal, and you better undo what you did to my friends."

"Champions are forbidden here! Only children are allowed!"

"I'll handle this," Tinkermon declared. _"Fairy Powder!"_

Growlmon turned to her. _"Fire Blaster!"_ His flames completely incinerated her cloud of dust, and she just barely escaped getting burned.

"Tinkermon!" Petermon shouted. Fury twisted his boyish features, and he pulled out his sword. "You'll pay for that."

"Just try it," the dinosaur Digimon growled, still unable to believe that any version of Peter Pan was actually any kind of bad guy.

Petermon took to the air. _"Twinkle Shoot!"_ Several knives flew at Growlmon. He retaliated with his _Dragon Slash_. The knives went spinning off course as the blade of plasma flew threw them, but immediately went after the dinosaur Digimon again.

" _Pyro Blaster!"_ Growlmon cried. This attack seemed to work, but only because it completely destroyed the knives.

With a cry, Petermon flew at Growlmon, swinging his sword. Growlmon used the blades on his arms to block, but Petermon was apparently an expert swordsman. Even with Growlmon's larger size and greater strength, Petermon was able to use his skills, speed, and ability to fly to keep the dinosaur Digimon on the defense, forcing him to back away.

" _Snipe Sting!"_ the fairy Digimon cried, swiping his sword around wildly in a blur of movement. Growlmon blinked at the rapid movements. It was too fast for him to follow. He felt the sword cut him, and then almost immediately catch him somewhere else. All he could do was defend his face from the fairy Digimon's blade.

"Growlmon," Takuya called, "do your needle hair thing!"

Beside him, Tinkermon grabbed his ear and gave it a yank. "Don't help him!"

"Why you… Come here!"

He made a grab for her, but she flew out of his reach as Growlmon contemplated what he meant. "My hair needle? Oh, this. _Dragon Spine!"_

The streak of hair going down his head, neck, and back straightened into needles and fired. Petermon recoiled as the needles went flying. Growlmon used the opportunity to jump and use his _Dino Kick_ , sending the fairy Digimon crashing into and destroying a concession stand. He recovered quickly though and flew towards the dinosaur Digimon again.

Takuya was busy still trying to catch Tinkermon. He kept making a grab for her, but she was too fast for him. "Hold still, you little pest."

The fairy Digimon's eyes flashed with anger. "Don't call me little! _Nightmare Pandemic!"_

She fired a stinger, and Takuya felt it stick him in the cheek. He pulled it out and tossed it aside, giving her a dirty look. "Is that the best you've got?"

He stepped forward to make a grab for her, but suddenly found that his legs didn't work, and he toppled over. Tinkermon giggled arrogantly as she fluttered above him. "My _Nightmare Pandemic_ causes paralysis. Serves you right."

Grumbling, Takuya looked to his friends. All four were staring at him with hooded eyes. None of them looked like they were going to help. He struggled to move, but it took all his strength just to lift his hand. "Come on… you guys… Wake… up…"

He let his fist drop, bopping Jyarimon on the head. The slime Digimon blinked, and something returned in his eyes. Being just a head, he shook himself to clear his senses. "Wait, what am I doing? This is no time for games."

A small smile grazed Takuya's features. "Welcome back…"

Jyarimon suddenly looked horrified. "Takuya, no." He looked ashamed of himself. "I can't believe I let myself give in to her temptations like that."

"Uh oh," Tinkermon muttered and fluttered over to him, her eyes glowing. "Everything is ok."

Jyarimon shut his eyes. "That's enough of that. I'm not letting you control me anymore. _Heated Bubbles!"_

He spat out a stream of bubbles. Unlike the standard _Bubble Blow_ that most Baby and In-Training Digimon had, this attack could actually do some form of damage. As the bubbles flew at Tinkermon, she swiped them with her lance, and was treated to a burst of hot air from them that was far more effective against her small size. "Hot! Hot!"

"I've had enough of being a Baby. _Jyarimon Digivolve to… Gigimon! Gigimon Digivolve to… Shoutmon!_ There much better."

Tinkermon waved her lance around. "You're a big meanie. I made a mistake thinking you'd fit in here."

Shoutmon snorted. "I'm the Digimon King. I don't have time to play all day. Now, get out of my way. _Rock and Roller!_ "

He swung his mic, but Tinkermon showed a surprising amount of strength for her small size and blocked with her lance. He tried again, but she continued to knock away his mic before attempting to hit him with her _Nightmare Pandemic_.

Shoutmon jumped backwards, avoiding the paralyzing stinger. _"Fiery Fastball!"_

Once again displaying strength her size belittled, she cut through the attack with her lance. _"Petermon Syndrome!"_

Shoutmon just smirked at her glowing eyes. "Sorry, but that only works on Baby Digimon."

The fairy Digimon smirked. "I know."

Shoutmon was suddenly grabbed from behind. He looked over his shoulder to find Davis, TK, and Kari holding onto him. "Guys, what are you doing?"

"Stop being so mean, Shoutmon," TK told him in a monotone voice.

"We just want to have fun," said Kari.

"Fun…" Davis muttered.

Shoutmon carefully struggled. He knew he could easily get free, but he didn't want to risk hurting them in their current forms. Human children, he had learned from their stories of the Real World, were apparently very fragile. "Come on, you guys, snap out of it! Don't you see she's manipulating you?"

Tinkermon chuckled. "You've been very naughty Shoutmon. Even though you didn't break a promise, I think you need some Pretend Punishment."

" _I've_ been naughty? You're the one using your power to tempt Digimon to this place."

The fairy Digimon just shrugged as she stroked her poisonous lance. "We're trying to create a utopia for Digimon children to have fun and be carefree. I think you need to be reminded of how bad the world can be. _Speed Nightmare!"_

She threw her lance at him. No longer that concerned with hurting his friends, he broke from their grip and jumped out of the way, knocking them over in the process. Tinkermon's spear whizzed by him and buried in the ground.

Landing a short distance away, Shoutmon grasped the small cut where the lance grazed him. "Crap."

Tinkermon chuckled as she went to retrieve her weapon. "I got you! I got you! The poison on my lance causes nightmaric hallucinations. Even a small cut is enough."

That much was true. He could already feel the poison affecting him. "Nightmaric… isn't… a word…"

His eyes glazed over. He rubbed them to try and keep his vision clear, but everything around him was being distorted. Something was coming, something big and powerful, an incomprehensible force of destruction.

"Oh my," Tinkermon's distorted voice echoed all around him. "You saw something really bad in your past, didn't you?"

Yes, he had, and he was seeing it again. That giant destructive monster of immeasurable strength and power. It appeared before him like a massive tornado larger than any to ever appear on the fuji scale. Reaching hands that stretched out across the sky, covering the land in darkness. Two beastly faces that stared down at him, seeing him as nothing more than an insect to be squashed. A truly unstoppable force of destruction. And all he could do was stand in awe and fear of it.

But he wasn't alone. Someone was there with him, and they charged fearlessly towards the monster as Shoutmon reached out towards them and shouted their name. "Gumdramon!"

He knew what would happen before it did; he'd seen it before. But even if he hadn't, there had only been one possible outcome against such a monstrous beast, one he had been too cowardly face, even as his best friend raced towards what he must have known would be his death.

"So sad," said Tinkermon from somewhere he couldn't see. "This is what happens when you grow up. That's why it's so much better to stay in the child and infant levels. You don't want to make the same mistake again, do you?"

The vision changed slightly. The monster was still there, but now his human friends were too. Their Digivices lay smashed on the ground, and they seemed to be unconscious as the monster loomed over them, roaring triumphantly.

"No, I don't," Shoutmon whispered. "I don't want it to happen again." He dropped to his knees. "And I won't let it!"

He slammed his head on the ground as hard as he could. Tinkermon gasped in surprise, but it seemed to do the trick. Reality and his hallucination blurred together, but he was able to locate the fairy Digimon.

He grasped his mic tightly. _"Bellow Blaster!"_

A blaze of fiery energy burst from his mic. Tinkermon cried out as it flowed over her, but was unable to dodge or defend against it in time. She dropped to the ground, covered in a fine layer of ashes. Shoutmon marched over and kicked her lance away from her as he fought off the last bit of its hallucinatory poison. "And I hope you learned your lesson."

Whimpering, the fairy Digimon struggled to her feet and took to the air. Shoutmon watched her go as she fluttered up higher and higher. Looking down, she watched as Petermon and Growlmon continued to fight as the crowd of Baby, In-Training, and Rookie level Digimon grew larger.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and reached out as far as her powers would allow. When she opened her eyes again, they were glowing brightly. "All Baby Digimon, help Petermon!"

Shoutmon's eyes widened. "Oh, crap. You rotten little… _Fiery Fastball!"_

Giggling, she dodged the attack and disappeared into the crowd. Shoutmon swore as the Baby Digimon started to move in. This included the three human toddlers. Takuya shouted for them to stop, but was unable to actually do anything due to his paralysis.

"Hiyah!" Shoutmon cried, leaping through the air and landing on Davis. He pinned the boy to the ground and reached out to grab TK and Kari by the back of their shirts. "Guys, come on! Don't let her control you!"

Growlmon continued to dodge and parry Petermon's sword with the blades on his elbows. With the fairy Digimon's ability to fly, it proved difficult to fight him off. It irritated him somewhat that Petermon could fly without wings while he was stuck on the ground. Where was the logic in that?

" _Growl Claw!"_ he cried, slashing at Petermon. The fairy Digimon attempted to block with his blade, but had it knocked away. He retreated to the sky, and Growlmon prepared to send a _Dragon Slash_ his way, but before he could fling the blade of plasma, he felt something on his tail.

Turning around, he found several Baby Digimon surrounding him, beginning to crawl up his body. "Hey, get off. You could get hurt."

Petermon smiled. "Great idea, Tinkermon. Now lets throw my _Midnight Fantasia_ into the mix."

Placing two fingers in his mouth, he whistled loudly. It wasn't an ordinary whistle though; Growlmon could sense something mystical about it, much like his _Howl_ attack. Petermon's whistle didn't hurt, but whatever it was meant to do, he made sure everyone heard it as he took off, flying above the forest.

Growlmon couldn't be bothered chasing. He was being 'attacked', for lack of a better word, by all the Baby Digimon. They couldn't do anything to hurt him, but they were nuisances that kept getting in his way. He couldn't even go anywhere without stepping on them. "Shoutmon, what's going on?"

"It's Tinkermon!" the dragon Digimon called back as he tried to restrain the three human children. "She's controlling them. She has the power to control Baby Digimon."

"Humans too," Takuya muttered as he slowly began to regain mobility. He managed to glance at a Rookie level Digimon standing close by. "Why aren't you guys doing anything?"

The Digimon shook its head. "You guys issued a challenge. We can't interfere."

Takuya managed a nod towards the Baby Digimon surrounding Growlmon. "You call that not interfering?"

"That's Tinkermon's power, not us, so it's allowed."

Takuya cut his eyes at them. "That's a load of crap."

Over in the gathering crowd of Baby Digimon, Growlmon had finally gotten fed up. Shaking himself like a wet dog, he shook all the Baby Digimon off and jumped as far away from them as he could. Placing some distance between himself and them, a familiar scent caught his nose and he looked back at the forest to see Petermon returning.

"Ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba!" the fairy Digimon cried in a familiar tune. "Charge!"

From out of the forest, numerous Baby, In-Training, and Rookie level Digimon came rushing out. The former two stayed beneath Petermon while the Rookies all charged forward. As they approached, Growlmon could see that all their eyes were closed, yet they were somehow still going on the attack. "What the…?"

Petermon smirked. "My _Midnight Fantasia_ allows me to control any sleeping Digimon at the Rookie level or below." He motioned to the Digimon that had come out of the forest. "These guys are the ones that decided to call it a night and go to bed."

Growlmon glared. "If you're controlling them, then that means that I just have to defeat you. _Pyro Blaster!"_

He fired a beam of plasma energy. Petermon didn't even bother to move. He simply snapped his fingers, and the Baby and In-Training Digimon beneath him began blowing bubbles. A wall of shiny, pink spheres built up in front of Petermon. Growlmon's attack collided with it, popping most of them, but his _Pyro Blaster_ had been stopped.

Growlmon blinked. "What? How could bubbles…?"

"Hey!" Shoutmon called to him. "Baby and In-Training Digimon have a _Bubble Blow_ attack that they use to defend themselves. Enough of them can neutralize even the strongest of attacks."

The dinosaur Digimon's ears drooped. "That's not fair."

Petermon pointed. "And best of all, you don't have that advantage. Attack!"

All the sleeping Rookie level Digimon attacked. There were far too many for Growlmon to avoid, so he quickly shielded his head as several dozen attacks blasted against him. He may have been a Champion, but that many Rookie level attacks hurt.

"No Champions or up allowed," Petermon insisted. "Leave now."

Growlmon lowered his arms. "Not without my friends!"

He flung a _Dragon Slash_ at him. Just like before, the Baby and In-Trainings used _Bubble Blow_ to cancel out his attack. Petermon laughed loudly. "Your attacks are useless. Everyone, show him how it's done."

Growlmon knew it was coming, but that didn't make the barrage of attacks any less painful. Different attacks of different element types slammed against him. He could attack back if he wanted, but he didn't want to hurt them; they were just under Petermon's control. In a way, they were sleepwalking.

His eyes snapped open. _'That's it! They're asleep. I just have to wake them up.'_ Ignoring the numerous attacks, he took a deep breath. _"Howling!"_

His deafening howl rang out. Everyone covered their ears, crying out. The attacks stopped as Growlmon's howl woke them up, leaving them to wonder what happened. Even the Baby Digimon Tinkermon was controlling came back to their senses.

"Hey!" Petermon cried, talking extra loud over the ringing in his ears. "That's cheating!"

"Cheating my foot," Growlmon snarled. _"Pyro Blast-"_

" _Nightmare Pandemic!"_

Something pricked Growlmon's cheek. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tinkermon fly by. Reaching up, he brushed the stinger away, but suddenly felt his jaw go slack, his tongue dangling out. The paralysis traveled down to his neck, and his head went lop-sided.

"Just try howling now," Tinkermon told him. She turned to the Baby Digimon, eyes glowing. _"Petermon Syndrome!"_

The Babies fell under her control again. They immediately began using _Bubble Blow_. Clouds of bubbles flew at Growlmon, covering him head to toe in one big, pink pile. He fought against them, but there were so many, and they were coming faster than they could be popped.

' _This is bad. I can't attack. I'll be defeated at this rate.'_

The bubbles continued to pile up, subduing him. The last thing he saw before the pink sphere's obscured his vision was Shoutmon still trying to restrain his friends while Takuya remained paralyzed. He had to help them. He was the only one who could do it. If he didn't end this, they would never get home.

"No," the dinosaur Digimon whispered. "I won't let that happen. We're going home. We're getting out of here now!"

On the outside, the pile of bubbles continued to grow as the Babies kept unleashing their attacks. Petermon watched with his arms crossed and a satisfied smile on his face. "Keep it up. Once he tires himself out, we'll throw him off the island, and he'll never bother- Ah!"

He cried out and covered his eyes as a bright light emitted from the pile of bubbles. The Baby Digimon jumped back in surprise and stopped attacking as Growlmon's voice rang out. _"Growlmon Digivolve to… WarGrowlmon!"_

The pile of bubbles burst apart. Growlmon was gone, and something much larger appeared from beneath them as a much larger cybernetic Digimon that was part flesh and part mechanical. WarGrowlmon was appropriately named, as he looked ready for a war with a lethal looking blade on each claw and blasters on his chest.

Petermon looked on in disbelief at the new cyborg dinosaur Digimon. "He Digivolved? To Ultimate? But he was defeated." He shook his head and pointed. "Wait, that's not the issue! How dare you Digivolve! Champions are not allowed, so Ultimates are _definitely_ not!"

"Don't worry," WarGrowlmon assured him, the paralysis in his face gone. "We'll be leaving in a little bit. Just as soon as I deal with you. _Atomic Blaster!"_ He fired blasts of energy from his chest. Petermon flew backwards, allowing the Baby Digimon to send up a wall of bubbles that stopped his attack.

The fairy Digimon smirked. "It doesn't matter if you're an Ultimate. _Bubble Blow_ is an attack meant to stop all attacks. Babies and In-Trainings need it in order to survive in the world. As long as I have them to defend me, I can't be touched. Unless you show us how bad adult Digimon are by killing them, your attacks will never reach me."

WarGrowlmon glared. "I would never attack, let alone kill, innocent bystanders."

"Well, too bad for you, because they have no problem attacking. Get him!"

The Baby Digimon attacked. Countless bubbles flew at WarGrowlmon. He began swinging his arms around, popping the bubbles in bunches so they couldn't pile up on him like before. But Petermon was right, as long as he was unwilling to kill the Baby Digimon, they would just keep blocking his attacks.

From a safe distance away, Tinkermon chuckled as she watched from her hiding place, controlling the Baby Digimon so they obeyed Petermon's orders. "Adult Digimon are so stupid. Make him pay, Petermon, then we can have fun again."

A loud squeal drew her attention away from the battle. She turned around to find Oinkmon, covered in pie cream, charging at her. With an angry squeal, he jumped in the air. Tinkermon cried out as he came down on top of her, crushing her beneath his much larger size.

The bubbles stopped coming as Tinkermon's control over the Baby Digimon was broken. Davis, TK, and Kari stopped fighting against Shoutmon as well as they realized what they were doing.

"Wait," said TK, "we were just trying to help Petermon. Why?"

"I'm not sure," Davis replied, rubbing his head. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

At this point, Petermon realized the bubbles had stopped. "What happened? Tinkermon?" He looked to see Oinkmon trotting over, the unconscious fairy Digimon in his mouth; she was out cold. "Tinkermon!"

The clearing of a throat drew his attention, and he turned uneasily to WarGrowlmon. "Remember me?"

Petermon gulped nervously, but anger for what had been done to his best friend quickly overrode it. Holding out his hand, his sword flew into it, and he pointed it at the cyborg dinosaur Digimon. "Come on then!"

WarGrowlmon took his challenge and charged, using the two vernier thrusters on his back for speed. Petermon flew towards him as well and used _Twinkle Shoot_. The cyborg dinosaur Digimon didn't even flinch as the knives bounced off his metal body. The two Digimon met, both swinging their blades. WarGrowlmon's much larger ones easily cut through Petermon's sword, sending the broken blade flying and landing point first into the ground.

" _Hammer Edge!"_ he cried, bringing his claw down from up above to stab. The fairy Digimon went down as WarGrowlmon's claw slammed him to the ground, sending up a cloud of dust with the force. When the dust cleared, Petermon found himself pinned to the ground by WarGrowlmon's palm. The cyborg dinosaur Digimon could have easily used his claws to impale him, but instead had buried them in the ground around him, pinning him in place.

Petermon stared up at the sky, seemingly stunned. Slowly, his gaze shifted to WarGrowlmon, who glared at him threateningly. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and spoke the words he never uttered before. "I… surrender…"

 **(A/N: Phew, that was an event. But it looks like things have been resolved. And now a new Ultimate has joined the group. Yay! But what's going to become of Petermon and Tinkermon now? And what of our heroes? Tai is still an Oinkmon, and three others are little kids. Maybe they should have stayed in Argomon's jungle instead. Stay tuned to find out what happens next.)**

 **WarGrowlmon's attacks:**

 **Radiation Blade** **–** _ **Slashes with his radiated Pendulum Blades.**_

 **Atomic Blaster** **–** _ **Shoots atomic lasers from both of the gunports on his chest that destroys the opponent on the atomic level.**_

 **Megalo Spark** **–** _ **Emits an electric shock from his chest.**_

 **Hammer Edge** **–** _ **Stabs with his Chrome Digizoid claws.**_

 **Plasma Blade** **–** _ **Ignites his Pendulum Blades and strikes the ground, emitting a fiery shockwave.**_

 **Big Spark** **–** _ **Fires electrified bullets from his chest mounted cannons.**_

 **Assault Balancer** **–** _ **Stabs an enemy with his cable and then throws them.**_

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/WarGrowlmon**


	50. Chapter 50: Angels Can Be Evil

**(A/N: Got a long one here. And we'll also be getting a little more insight as to what's happening with Argomon. I won't say any more than that. Enjoy.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 50: Angels Can Be Evil**

"You know," said Davis, "being a kid again was fun and all, but it's good to be my own age again."

Shoutmon snorted. "Trust me, there wasn't much of a difference."

"Hey!"

Takato chuckled. "Good one, Shoutmon."

Davis cut his eyes at him and grinned. "Well, listen to you, Mr. Big-Shot, with your new Ultimate level. WarGrowlmon, huh? That's pretty awesome."

"Yeah," TK agreed, "now our team is even stronger." He looked up at Petermon and Tinkermon with a serious look. "Now, you guys promised to behave, right?"

The two fairy Digimon lowered their heads. "Yes, we promise."

"Good," said Shoutmon. He pointed at the Champion threateningly. "And you remember what happens when you break your promises. Your rules applies to you too."

"Yes," Petermon replied, bowing his head even lower.

"And no more using your powers to tempt and control anyone," Kari told the female fairy Digimon. "You can invite them to come here, but it's up to them whether they do or not."

Tinkermon pouted. "Understood. But if they Digivolve beyond Rookie, we will still evict them."

Takato sighed. "Fine, but no throwing them off the island like you were planning on doing to me."

Petermon cocked his head to the side. "Speaking of leaving the island, are you sure you want to go back down _there_ again?"

Takuya glanced over the railing at Argomon's jungle of vines and sighed. "Afraid so. It's not ideal, but we've got to stop Argomon."

Not understanding, the male fairy Digimon shook his head. "I don't get it, but it's your choice." He held out his hand. "Everyone link up."

They all joined hands, and Petermon took to the air. Tinkermon once again carried Oinkmon while Shoutmon clung to Kari's leg at the end of the human chain. The other Digimon cried their goodbyes as the teens were lifted off the island and brought down below.

"Where do you want me to drop you off?" Petermon asked.

TK, the fifth link in the chain, looked around. "Anywhere is fine as long as there's not many vines."

"I got the torch ready," Shoutmon called up to him. "It's a shame we can't find Argomon from the air though."

"Wait," Kari cried just above him, "what's that over there?"

Petermon squinted to see. "You mean that? It looks like some Digimon fighting. We'll avoid that spot."

"No, wait," said Davis, the third in the chain. He stared hard. "I think… I think that's Leomon. It is, it's Leomon!"

The fairy Digimon made a face. "Uch, another Champion."

"You're a Champion," TK pointed out.

"I'm the exception."

Flying beside the fairy Digimon, Oinkmon made some pig snorts. Beneath him, Tinkermon looked puzzled. "What? You want us to bring you there?"

Takato, the fourth link in the chain, nodded. "Yeah, take us… Wait, you can understand him?"

"Are you sure?" Petermon asked uncertainly. "Tinkermon and I ain't sticking around to help."

"Just do it," Takuya said beneath him.

Petermon and Tinkermon exchanged a look and shrugged. They flew over to the battle, flying directly above the two combatants. Neither Leomon nor his opponent realized the group was above them.

"Hey, Shoutmon," Takato called down the line, "who's that Leomon's fighting?"

The dragon Digimon struggled to look down. "It looks like Wendigomon. He's a Champion level beast man Digimon, and can be quite ruthless."

A smile crept up Davis' face. "Hey, guys, what do you say we give Leomon a bit of a surprise?"

The others seemed to realize what he was talking about and smiled. "Yeah, lets do it," said Takato eagerly.

Takuya looked up at Petermon. "I guess this is goodbye. You can let us go now."

The fairy Digimon raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and released him. "Tootles."

The teens dropped from the sky, pulling out their Digivices as they did so. Leomon had left them before because he had thought that they would be in danger and slow him down. Well, he was about to get a surprise.

" _Fist of the Beast king!"_ the lion Digimon cried, punching outward.

Wendigomon just smirked and charged at him. He jumped over the energy blast shaped like a lion's head as his torso tore open. _"Koko Crusher!"_

Blasts were fired from the tear in his chest. Leomon raised his arms to defend himself when an angel Digimon suddenly appeared in front of him and used his _Angel Staff_ to deflect the blasts. Leomon blinked at the unexpected save as Angemon smiled at him over his shoulder. "Surprise."

All around, different Digimon came in for a landing. Wendigomon hesitated as he now found himself confronted by BurningGreymon, Paildramon, Angewomon, Angemon, WarGrowlmon, and even Shoutmon. Then, a moment later, Oinkmon landed on his head and dropped to the ground. Growling, Wendigomon kicked the dazed pig Digimon into the air, and Angewomon quickly caught him. "I guess Tinkermon dropped you too. Are you ok?"

With dizzy swirls in his eyes, Oinkmon grunted.

WarGrowlmon took a threatening step towards Wendigomon. "A word of advice, cut your loses and run, or face all of us."

The beast man Digimon hesitated, seeming to consider his odds as he regarded the group of Digimon before him. Whether he was unintelligent, determined, wild, or arrogant, he went on the attack. _"Destroyer Voice!"_

The cry of his attack unleashed a powerful shockwave that tore the ground apart as it flew towards the DigiDestined. WarGrowlmon charged forward and used his large body to shield the others from the shockwave. That was when Wendigomon used his _Club Arm_ , shooting out his cable-like arms to latch onto a series of vines behind the group and rapidly pull himself forward past the others, heading straight for Leomon.

Angewomon suddenly appeared in front of him and used _Holy Slap_ , knocking him away. He went flying through the air, crashing into a wall of vines. As soon as he hit the ground, the vines began wrapping around him. Strangely, Wendigomon was calm, letting the vines constrict around him, and after a few moments, they stopped and unwound, leaving the beast man Digimon alone.

"Hey, what happened?" BurningGreymon exclaimed. "The vines didn't attack him."

"Wendigomon is an agent of Argomon," Leomon explained. "The vines won't go after him."

Shoutmon snorted in disapproval. "Well, that stinks."

" _Koko Crusher!"_

With his rapid speed, Paildramon rushed into the attack's path and fired his _Desperado Blaster_. Using precise aiming, his bullets collided with the blasts, causing small explosions to go off a distance from their intended target.

Roaring, Wendigomon's arms extended on their cables. Paildramon dodged the one on the left, then the one on the right. But as the arms retracted, they grabbed hold of the dragon Digimon's shoulders, allowing Wendigomon to speed towards Paildramon. It seemed he was rather resourceful with his movements.

"I don't think so." The dragon Digimon's arm came up, kicking the beast man Digimon in the jaw. Wendigomon went down. Dazed, he began crawling, and grabbed hold of some vines to climb to his feet. When he turned around, he came face to face with BurningGreymon.

"Surrender?" the dragon Digimon asked. In response, Wendigomon threw a punch. BurningGreymon easily caught his fist. He heated up his hand, and the beast man Digimon cried out and pulled his burned hand back. He backed away and hit something solid. Turning around, he found WarGrowlmon standing behind him. He immediately hopped away and fired his _Koko Crusher_. WarGrowlmon held up his arms as the blast exploded against his armor, the attack doing little to hurt him.

"He's certainly persistent," he said. The metal cable growing from his back wrapped around Wendigomon's ankle and lifted him in the air. "Ready, Angewomon?"

The angel Digimon smirked. "Ready." She built up her energy and launched herself in the air with her _Super Jump_. WarGrowlmon threw Wendigomon to her. She kicked out with her _Heel of Justice_ , and Wendigomon went flying through the air, disappearing from view among the vines.

Paildramon raised his arms in the air. "Gooooal!"

Angemon flew over. "Nice kick, Angewomon."

"Why thank you."

He looked in the direction the beast man Digimon had disappeared in. "I do feel kind of bad for him though. He never stood a chance."

WarGrowlmon walked over. "We gave him a chance to leave, and one to surrender. He chose to keep attacking."

Paildramon crossed his arms. "Yeah, he's lucky we didn't just kill him." He turned to Leomon. "Glad to see us?"

The lion Digimon lowered his head. "You have my thanks, my friends. Wendigomon was proving to be most formidable."

Grinning, Shoutmon walked over with his hands behind his head. "Ah, it was nothing. All in a day's work."

Leomon looked at him. "Shoutmon, you came back? Did you get the humans to safety?"

The dragon Digimon blinked. "Did I get the…? Oh, ha, ha! That's right, you don't know. Guys." He snapped his fingers, and everyone returned to their human forms.

Leomon looked at the teens in surprise, clearly caught off guard. "Wait, you children…? You can…? You just…?"

TK chuckled. "Cat got your tongue?"

The lion Digimon continued to look flabbergasted. "You humans can turn into Digimon? Since when?"

"Well," said Takato, "since long before we met you."

With a frustrated sigh, Leomon palmed his forehead. "You can turn into Digimon, and nearly all of you are at the Ultimate level. I wish I had known that before. You're actually better off than I am. Better off than my group even."

Davis stomped his foot. "Speaking of which, what gives with leaving us behind like that? We said we'd help you."

The lion Digimon sighed. "Forgive me. I thought that if I left, there would be no way you could follow me, and Shoutmon would lead you out of here."

He looked at the dragon Digimon, who began waving his arms. "Hey, you try arguing with these humans and see how far it gets you."

He sighed again. "I'm sorry for leaving. I clearly underestimated you. And that makes me even more ashamed to ask this now." He got down on his knees and bowed to them. "Will you help me find my companions and defeat Argomon?"

Grinning, Shoutmon walked over and patted him on the back of his head. "Hey, no sweat. That was the plan from the get go. We'll take care of Argomon just like we took care of Wendigomon."

Kari crossed her arms. "We?" she asked playfully.

The dragon Digimon sweat-dropped. "I mean, you guys, of course."

That was when Oinkmon trotted over and began squealing. Shoutmon's smug expression became a stupefied one. "What? If Wendigomon worked for Argomon, we should have made him show us where he is?"

Silence followed. An ironic breeze was heard, and a data dust packet drifted by as if it were a cosmic joke.

"Oh…" TK muttered, "yeah… I guess that would have been a good idea. Guess that's why you're the leader."

"Lets not go through that again," Takato pleaded.

"Yeah, we all know that I'm the leader," Davis declared, puffing out his chest and placing his hands on his hips. The others sweat-dropped.

"Delusions aside," said Takuya, turning back to Leomon, "any luck finding your friends?"

With a sigh, the lion Digimon stood up. "I'm afraid not. I've actually spent most of my time going around in circles. How about you?"

Takato smiled nervously. "Oh, you wouldn't believe where we've been. A lot had happened these past few weeks. Mostly though we haven't seen anything."

"Aside from those Snimon that Shoutmon saw, Wendigomon was the first of Argomon's minions we saw." TK told him. "Unless… Shoutmon, do you think Snatchmon worked for Argomon?"

The dragon Digimon shook his head. "Not likely. Snatchmon is a loner, and doesn't take orders well. Besides, the vines attacked him, but they didn't attack Wendigomon. No, he was probably just wandering around on his own."

"Great," Davis grumbled, kicking a vine. "Our first real lead and we end up- AH!"

The vine he had kicked attacked him. Shoutmon rushed over with the torch and warded it away. TK sighed and shook his head. "So, what's the plan now? Just go back to aimlessly wandering around like we did before we went to Never-Ever Land and hope we get lucky?"

Leomon did a double-take. "You went where?"

"Never mind," Kari told him. "In any case, I don't think we have a choice." She pointed. "But I suggest heading in the direction I kicked Wendigomon in. Maybe we'll run into him again, and we can get him to lead us to Argomon."

Davis chuckled. "This'll make an interesting memory. 'Hey, do you remember the time we went searching for Wendigomon in the direction Kari kicked him in'?"

"This whole trip is one interesting memory after another," Takato pointed out. "Seriously, who goes through things like this?"

"We do," TK replied. "It seems like ever since we've got here, we've run into some evil freak trying to take over, and once we beat one, we run into another. First it was Devimon, then it was Dragomon, then Myotismon, and now it's Argomon."

Leomon was staring. "Are you serious? You've faced all these villains? Just what have you been through since coming here?"

Takuya gave a bark of laughter. "Oh, boy. Leomon, my friend, have we got a story for you."

As they walked off in search of Wendigomon, they were unaware of the flying figure overhead, watching them with a scowl on their face. "So, you're the ones that are causing all the trouble. Humans that can become Digimon, huh?" Their fists clenched. "Well, you won't stop us. We'll find what we're looking for, and you won't stand in our way."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"We really should have stacked up on food when we were at Never-Ever Land," Takuya grumbled as he gnawed on the edible plant root.

"For all the nutrition it would have given us," TK replied.

Kari nodded in agreement. "Yeah, the only thing they had was junk food."

"Hey," Davis objected, "I don't know about you guys, but I could live on junk food. Nothing like a sugar rush before a big game for an energy boost."

"Until you crash," Takato pointed out, "and then you have no energy at all. Plus, you'll get fat." He looked at Shoutmon and Leomon. "How does nutrition work with Digimon?"

"Eating healthy is important whether human or Digimon," Leomon replied.

"Yeah, we may not lose or gain muscle or weight based on what we eat like you humans do, but we still need energy, and the right kind is important."

Davis grumbled as he stared at the root in his hand. "Well, I'm not getting any from this." He tried to take a bite. "It's so tough I can't even bite the thing."

"That's because it's not cooked yet," the lion Digimon told him, taking the root and putting it back in the fire. "Let it sit a little longer."

Davis sighed. "I'm going to waste away before it's done." He eyed Shoutmon's roasted root hungrily as the dragon Digimon ate, but Shoutmon produced his mic and pointed it at him threateningly, shaking his head.

Kari chuckled and turned to Leomon. "Hey, Leomon, did you find any clues as to why Argomon is taking over this area?"

The lion Digimon shook his head. "Nothing concrete. I did discover that he's looking for something though, but I don't know what it is."

"Must be pretty important to do all this," said Takuya, looking around at all the vines. "What could he be looking for?"

Shoutmon shrugged. "It's anyone's guess. There are many mysteries in the Digital World that have yet to be known."

"Like how we got here," TK pointed out.

Leomon nodded in agreement. "Yes, that is quite a mystery. In any case, I don't know what Argomon is looking for, but I doubt it's anything good."

"Maybe he's just looking for something to eat," Davis grumbled, getting up. "I'm going to take a leak."

"Thanks for the details," Takato muttered.

Davis didn't have the energy to reply. He once again wished they had thought to stock up in Never-Ever Land. Food was scarce in this vine forest with all the green tentacles covering everything. Aside from those rough, bitter roots, they hadn't eaten anything all day.

"Maybe Snatchmon only went cannibal because he couldn't find anything to eat," he complained as he unzipped.

A sigh escaped him as he relieved himself. His business was soon interrupted from one of his friends calling to him. "Couldn't you have moved further away?"

"And get lost in this vine maze?" he responded. "No, thanks."

As he proceeded to empty his bladder, he heard movement in front of him. Frowning, he reached up and pushed aside some vines without thinking. It didn't register to him that they didn't react, but what did register was the giant face behind them.

The teens jumped as Davis came running back over to them, screaming. Kari screamed as well when she saw him and covered her eyes, but her brother's look alike didn't even notice her distress as he began pointing back where he had come from. "Face! Big! Big face! In vines!"

"Davis!" Takuya shouted. "Your pants!"

Taken aback, Davis looked down to find both his pants and his underwear around his ankles. He quickly pulled up both and pointed behind him. "There's a big face back there!"

Takato frowned. "A big face?"

"I think he means that!" TK cried, pointing.

Pushing aside the vines, Wendigomon walked into the clearing. The teens all jumped to their feet as Leomon pulled out his sword and Shoutmon produced his mic. "Well," the dragon Digimon stated, "I guess the big guy found us."

A wicked chuckle escaped the beast man Digimon as he cracked his knuckles. A smirk crept up Takuya's face as he glanced at his friends. "I think he came to get even. I guess we didn't kick enough sense into him last time."

"Well," said Kari, "at least we don't need to look for him anymore. _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Amgewomon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Paildramon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… WarGrowlmon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… BurningGreymon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Angemon!"_

Leomon stepped forward to stand beside them. "I will fight with you this time, my friends."

Shoutmon went to stand by Oinkmon. "I guess we're sitting out." The pig Digimon's ears dropped, and Shoutmon patted Oinkmon on the back. "Ah, don't worry. I don't think we're needed anyway."

"He's right," BurningGreymon insisted. "We swept the field with you last time, Wendigomon. How about you just surrender and take us to Argomon?"

The beast man Digimon just chuckled again and pointed. The group turned around to find a second Wendigomon marching out of the vine jungle. Movement to the right brought forth a third, and a fourth came from the left. They now had four Wendigomon surrounding them.

WarGrowlmon looked around at them. "I guess he brought some friends."

There was a roar from up above, and a fifth Wendigomon came down from the sky. The DigiDestined scattered as the newest beast man Digimon punched the ground where they were. The other four let them pass, chuckling as they turned to face them.

"This could be a bit of problem," said BurningGreymon.

"Why?" Paildramon asked. "We've still got superior numbers, and almost all of us are Ultimates who can fly. We got this."

"Don't be so sure," a feminine voice that did not belong to Angewomon cried out from up above. "You humans are far too ignorant to how our world works. Wendigomon, do it now!"

The five beast man Digimon gathered close together. Bands of Fractal Code emerged from their bodies and wrapped around them, becoming entwined with each of them. The five began to glow as they cried out in unison. _"Wendigomon Digivolve to… Mephistomon!"_

The light faded and the five Wendigomon were gone. In their place was a single Digimon that resembled a demon ram standing on two legs with a pair of bat-like wings. A sinister smile crept up the demon Digimon's face as it stared at the group hungrily.

WarGrowlmon was suddenly feeling a little less confident. "Ooook, Shoutmon, a couple of questions. First, what happened?"

"Group Digivolving," the dragon Digimon replied. "If a Digimon isn't strong enough to Digivolve on its own, it can get together with more of its own kind and Digivolve in a group to reach the next level. The more that Digivolve together, the stronger they are."

"Oh, great," Paildramon complained.

"Ok, next question." He looked up. "Who's that?"

Up in the sky was an angel Digimon with four wings, wielding a staff. "I am Darcmon, and you pests are interfering with my plans."

"Wait, _your_ plans?" Angewomon repeated.

"I thought Argomon was responsible for these vines," said Angemon.

Darcmon chuckled. "Oh, he is, but yours truly is behind it. Argomon is a fool; so easy to manipulate. It was me who recruited him, and all those working for him answer to me."

"I see," said BurningGreymon. "It's a classic case of the servant secretly manipulating the master behind the scenes. Interesting. I guess only Argomon can do what you can't."

A smirk grazed Darcmon's face. "It certainly makes my search easier."

Paildramon still seemed to be trying to wrap his head around the situation. "Wait, so an angel Digimon is the bad guy? How's that work? Isn't she a Light type?"

"It doesn't always matter what type, species, element, or attribute a Digimon is," Leomon told them. "It all comes down to one's choices. Although it is true that certain qualities different Digimon possess in their code make them more likely to give in to the darkness. The most easily affected are the demon species, the Dark elements, and the Virus types."

Paildramon wasn't sure he caught all that. "Well, I guess it makes sense; her name is Darkmon after all."

"It's not that type of dark, you idiot," the angel Digimon in question scolded. "Mephistomon, get rid of these nuisances!"

The demon Digimon grinned. "With pleasure, my lady. Payback time."

He closed his eyes and began muttering under his breath. Shoutmon's eyes widened and his hands flew to his head. "Cover your ears!"

" _Black Sabbath!"_ Mephistomon roared, and fired a blast of dark energy. The DigiDestined dodged as the attack cleared out a good portion of vines.

BurningGreymon lowered his hands. "Why'd we have to cover our ears?"

"Memphistomon chants a spell before using his _Black Sabbath_ attack," Shoutmon explained. "If you hear his spell, you'll die."

WarGrowlmon blinked. "Oh… Well, that sucks."

The demon Digimon laughed. "It keeps others at a distance."

"So does this," Paildramon exclaimed. _"Cable Catcher!"_

His claw shot out. Mephistomon lowered his head, using his horns to knock them away. Smirking, he raised his arms. _"Dark Cloud!"_ A black cloud exploded from his body, consuming everything around them. The DigiDestined coughed and hacked within the cloud of blackness while the demon Digimon stood unaffected. All around them, the vines began to rot, even the structures beneath them began to decay as his attack took affect.

"I'll take care of this cloud," Angemon declared. _"Omni Typh-"_

" _Dancing Sword!"_

Angemon cried out as a flying sword pierced his wing. He looked up to find Darcmon hovering just above the _Dark Cloud_. She motioned for him to come to her, and he took the challenge. Brandishing his staff, he flew up to meet her, but she blocked with her own staff. In a blur of movement, she pulled out another sword, swiping at the other angel Digimon. Angemon flew back, barely avoiding getting cut.

Smirking, she brought the blade up to her mouth, licking the length of it. "This is my special blade. I call it The Maiden. I'll cut you down with it."

Angemon humphed. "Not if I have anything to say about it." He flew towards her, swinging his staff, and the two engaged in battle.

Down below, Angewomon picked up where Angemon left off. Using her _Saint's Air_ , she cleared away the cloud, but Mephistomon simply recreated it again. "Go ahead, keep clearing it. I'll just keep making a new one. You won't last. My cloud decays everything it touches."

BurningGreymon looked up. "Well, in that case," he flew up and out of the cloud, "we'll just stay above it."

One by one, the others rose into the sky. From out here, they could no longer see the demon Digimon, but they were safe from the black cloud. Even Leomon hitched a ride on WarGrowlmon.

Mephistomon joined them above the cloud, his hands behind his back. "Yes, you could certainly do that, but," he held up Shoutmon and Oinkmon, both unconscious, "you're forgetting about these guys."

"Tai!" Angewomon shouted.

" _Pyro Barrage!"_ BurningGreymon cried, firing a heat wave of energy bullets.

" _Dark Cloud!"_ Mephistomon countered, creating another shroud of darkness and disappearing into it. BurningGreymon's attack missed, and the demon Digimon's laughter emitted from within the black cloud. "They won't survive long in here. You'll just have to come in and save them. You wanted to find me before for a different reason, well, now the stakes are higher, and the clock is ticking."

Angewomon called upon the winds. _"Saint's-"_

"I'll just create another _Dark Cloud_ if you clear this one away. And while you search for me, I'll whisper the spell for my _Black Sabbath_ to your friends here. The choice is yours. Come in and find them before they succumb to my cloud, or as good as kill them yourself before finishing that attack."

Angewomon scowled. "There's no choice to be made," she said, and dove right into the darkness.

"I'm in on this too," Paildramon replied before diving right in.

WarGrowlmon glanced at BurningGreymon. "Can you take Leomon?"

"Are you kidding?" the dragon Digimon exclaimed. "I'm not staying here while you guys fight. I'm going in."

He did just that, leaving WarGrowlmon to hover in the air. The cyborg dinosaur Digimon glanced at his passenger. "Leomon, I can't let you risk yourself-"

"Don't worry about me, my friend," the lion Digimon interrupted. "I lost my other friends, I'm not losing you guys too."

He leapt off the cyborg dinosaur Digimon's shoulder, disappearing into the blackness. WarGrowlmon sweat-dropped. "Ooook." He extinguished his thrusters, dropping into the cloud. He hit the ground with a mighty _thud_ that shook the ground. "I hope I don't rust too much."

Up in the sky, Angemon attempted to join the others. "I'm coming!"

Darcmon flew into his path, pointing her sword at him. "You're a little preoccupied right now."

" _Hand of Fate!"_

She cut the attack in half with her sword and flew at him again to resume their battle. Below them, within the _Dark Cloud_ , Angewomon desperately sought out her brother and Shoutmon. She didn't know how long they had before this evil cloud killed them, but judging by what she was feeling from it, they didn't have long. But it was almost impossible to see in this darkness. "Tai, where are you?"

A whistle drew her attention, and she turned to just barely make out Mephistomon in the distance. She fired her _Celestial Arrow_ , but hit nothing as the demon Digimon faded into the blackness.

A chuckle to her left startled her, and she turned to have Mephistomon's hoofed foot slam into her chin. "Consider us even from earlier." He rammed his horns into her gut. "And now I'm one up on you."

Angewomon stumbled back. The _Dark Cloud_ seemed to amplify the pain from his blows, and she collapsed to her knees, coughing and sputtering."

"Here you are!" BurningGreymon cried, flying in between the angel and demon Digimon. _"Crimson Fanger!"_

Mephistomon did a backflip as the dragon Digimon stabbed forward, kicking him in the back of his head with his hoof as he did so. "Nice try, sonny."

BurningGreymon groaned, rubbing his head. "Guys, he's here!" he shouted, igniting his body. "Over he-"

The demon Digimon's leg shot out, his hoof striking the dragon Digimon in the middle of his back. The flames went out as BurningGreymon went down, moaning in agony. Mephistomon sneered down at him. "Not so tough now, are you?"

" _Atomic Blaster!"_

Whirling around, he witnessed WarGrowlmon fire blasts of plasma from his chest. He countered with his _Black Sabbath_ , the two attacks meeting and exploding. The cyborg dinosaur Digimon charged at him and used _Radiation Blade_ , swinging his arms wildly, but he was too slow, his movements slowed down even further by the _Dark Cloud_ , and Mephistomon easily danced out of the way.

"Here, catch!" he cried, and threw the unconscious Shoutmon at him. The dragon Digimon bounced off WarGrowlmon's face, who caught him on reflex, and Mephistomon used his new free hand to punch him in the jaw.

" _Sting Strike!"_

Mephistomon moved. Even the speedy Paildramon had slowed down to the point where a sneak attack failed. Mephistomon knocked the lance aside, his hand shooting out to wrap around the dragon Digimon's neck. Paildramon gagged as Mephistomon forced him to his knees, squeezing tightly. "I guess our second meeting is going a little differently than you expected, isn't it? He grinned as Paildramon clawed at the hand wrapped around his throat. "And now your little pig friend is almost out of time… and so are you."

On the ground, Angewomon struggled to lift her head. She saw Oinkmon in the demon Digimon's hand, his body pixelating in warning of his upcoming demise. She reached out for him, tapping into whatever power reserves she had left. _"Holy Air!"_

A ring appeared around the pig Digimon, and his body recovered from the damage Mephistomon's _Dark Cloud_ had inflicted upon him. His eyes cracked open, and he was able to make out Angewomon's form in the darkness before she collapsed.

His eyes darted around, landing on the trembling forms of his friends as they suffered the affects of the _Dark Cloud,_ and he began squealing. Mephistomon glanced down at him and sneered. "Well, look who's awake. Just in time to watch your friends die."

Oinkmon squealed and began struggling. Mephistomon just laughed at the pig Digimon's futile attempt at freedom. Oinkmon struggled all the more, determine to save his friends, and opened his mouth to let out a loud cry. _"Trident Arm!"_

Mephistomon cried out as a large metal arm burst from Oinkmon's body and buried into his gut. The small pig Digimon's body exploded into data as a large glowing form emerged. _"MetalGreymon!"_

Mephistomon's mouth dropped open as the cyborg dinosaur Digimon's chest opened and he fired his _Giga Destroyer_. The demon Digimon was blown away, disappearing into the darkness as MetalGreymon roared to the sky.

Looking up, he spotted Angemon and Darcmon engaged in battle. Raising his arm, he fired his _Mega Claw_. It flew between the two angel Digimon, startling them both. Angemon recovered quickly and used his _Hand of Fate_. Darcmon was blasted back by it, disappearing into the distance as the attack carried her away.

"Angemon!" MetalGreymon shouted up to him. "Clear the area!"

"With pleasure," the angel Digimon replied. _"Omni Tornado!"_

The wind began swirling around them, creating a tornado. The _Dark Cloud_ was blown away, leaving the area free of darkness, but the damage was great. The land was clearly contaminated from the decay, and the vines were brown, dried out, and rotten. The DigiDestined were still alive, but in bad shape, greatly damaged from such longer exposure to Mephistomon's _Dark Cloud_.

"Are you guys ok?" MetalGreymon asked.

Grumbling, WarGrowlmon struggled to lift his head. "Metal…Grey…mon…?"

"Yeah, it's me," the cyborg dinosaur Digimon replied. "I'm back to normal."

Angemon flew down beside him. "What changed you back? Was it Angewomon's healing power?"

He shook his head. "No, that just healed the damage the _Dark Cloud_ did to me. I somehow managed to Spirit Evolve while I was still in Oinkmon form, even though I didn't have my Digivice. I don't know how I did it."

"I think I can explain," said Shoutmon as he limped over, no longer unconscious. "It doesn't matter what form a Digimon is in, all their other forms and possible forms are still written and contained in their code. Like me, even though I'm Shoutmon right now, I still have the data that makes up my In-Training and Baby forms, along with any possible forms I could Digivolve to. That's why Digivolving is a way to break free of the Oinkmon form. When Tai was turned into Oinkmon, everything for his human form, even his Digivice, was still contained in Oinkmon's code. It looks like you managed to tap into the data for your Digivice and Spirit Evolve."

"Unbelievable," the cyborg dinosaur Digimon grumbled. "So I could have become MetalGreymon all along?"

Shoutmon shrugged. "Don't know. Spirit Evolving is still a new thing. Maybe you just needed the right motivation." He collapsed. "Man, I have no energy. That cloud takes a lot out of you."

"I'll say," Paildramon agreed. "And Mephistomon's attack just made things worse. Where is that creep anyway?"

MetalGreymon looked around. "Gone. So is Darcmon. They better hope we don't run into them again. Although, since it seems Darcmon is actually the one behind Argomon's takeover, I'm sure we'll be seeing more of her."

BurningGreymon struggled to rise. "What about Leomon?" he asked. A moment later, he collapsed as well.

"He probably got lost in the darkness," Angemon replied. "We better go look for him."

"I can't even get up," Paildramon complained. "Hey, Angewomon, you think you can heal us too?"

The angel Digimon doubted it. "I don't think so. I barely have the strength to hold my Digimon form. Oh no." She suddenly reverted back to human. "Never mind."

"Hey," said MetalGreymon, "it's ok. You all deserve a rest. Angemon and I will take care of things."

"Thank goodness for that," BurningGreymon muttered and changed back to his human form. Paildramon did too a moment later.

WarGrowlmon held his form though. Slowly, he raised his arm and pointed. "MetalGreymon… Angemon…"

"It's fine," the angel Digimon assured him. "Just relax. We can handle things from here."

"No… look…"

"Yes, we'll look for Leomon too," MetalGreymon replied. "He can't have gone too far."

"No… it's… it's…"

" _Black Sabbath!"_

The cry came from behind. Clutching the wound in his stomach, Mephistomon fired a blast of energy. A blur of movement came from behind him, and the demon Digimon cried out, as a familiar blade buried in his head right between in his eyes. He howled and his attack went off course, sparing Angemon and MetalGreymon as Leomon landed close by, his legs giving out in his weakened state from prolonged exposure to the _Dark Cloud_.

Mephistomon stumbled about and reached up to tear the sword from his head. "Damn you!"

"An ironic statement coming from a demon Digimon," said MetalGreymon. "Lets finish this. _Giga Destroyer!"_

" _Hand of Fate!"_

Mephistomon's face twisted with fury as the attacks came at him. "You'll pay for thi-"

The rest of his declaration was cut off as he was obliterated. As the smoke cleared, Shoutmon eyed the lingering data that he was unable to get to longingly. "What a waste."

A cry of rage drew his attention, and he looked up to see the silhouette of Darcmon fly by. He looked to his friends, but they didn't seem to have notice. "Guys, over there!"

Angemon and MetalGreymon turned to him. "What?" the latter asked.

"It's Darcmon. She's…" He trailed off. She was already gone, and he sighed. "Never mind."

He had a feeling they would be seeing her again.

 **(A/N: Yay, Tai is back to normal. And our heroes have reunited with Leomon. And now they've made a startling discovery. Darcmon is the one behind everything, and she's using Argomon to find what ever it is she's seeking. But what is it, and what is her plan? And what of Leomon's friends? Things are becoming more and more complicated.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Wendigomon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Mephistomon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Darcmon**


	51. Chapter 51: Spider and Fly

**(A/N: Well, this is a big relief. Don't know why, but I had a dream last night that FanFiction was going to delete all their stories in 6 1/2 years to restart their site. Glad it was just a dream; that would have been awful for the writers and readers. But you don't want to hear about my dreams, you want to know what's happening with our heroes. Lets find out.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 51: Spider and Fly**

The area was secluded, yet the vines still covered everything. They spread all about, creating a dome-like structure from which no light shined through, keeping everything inside hidden.

Within the large green dome, Darcmon bowed down to the one who created all the greenery. Argomon towered over her in a cocoon of vines, listening as she gave her report. He didn't know what was going on in his jungle of vines, but he could feel through them that something was wrong. A group of individuals had been evading his vines for some time now. While that wasn't too unusual, for surely there would be those that would be able to escape his vines, there was something peculiar about this group.

He didn't like what he was feeling, so he had sent Darcmon to investigate. She had been a useful ally ever since she had approached him with her proposition. And now she was telling him that the group in question were a bunch of humans with the power to turn into Digimon. A Leomon and a Shoutmon were with them as well, but he didn't care for them much.

"That is about the long and short of it," the angel Digimon concluded. "I don't know where they came from, or where they got their power, but they are determine to stop you."

A scowl crossed Argomon's face. "They can't stop me. They're just a bunch of puny humans."

"Of course, sir," the Darcmon replied. "However, their ability to turn into Digimon, _Ultimate_ level Digimon at that, may prove to be problematic. And since they know how to ward off your vines, they could become a real nuisance. They may even find the keycards before we do."

Argomon frowned. Perhaps she was right. It wouldn't due to have a group of humans to get their hands on his prize. It would be best to get them out of the way rather than take a chance. "Very well, do what you must."

A sinister grin crept up the angel Digimon's face. "With your permission then… master."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Davis pouted as he tapped his Digivice. The screen remained blank, completely useless at this point until it was reenergized again. Leomon watched him with a curious look. "Still no power?"

The boy grumbled. "No, none. You guys?" He received shakes of the head from Takato, Takuya, and Kari. "Great. Then it looks like we're helpless again until they recharge."

"Well, Takato muttered, trying to look at the bright side, "we still have Leomon, TK, and Tai."

Shoutmon cleared his throat. "I'm here too, you know."

The lion Digimon chuckled and patted him on the back. "And we're all very appreciative of it."

His eye twitched. "I get the feeling you're not taking me seriously."

Takuya nervously scratched the back of his head. "It's not that. We know you're strong, but you're still just a Rookie, and you are the one that has been emphasizing the difference in strength between levels."

The others chuckled as Shoutmon crossed his arms. "I'm getting stronger everyday."

Davis nudged him. "Maybe you can find some more Shoutmon and DNA Digivolve with them like those Wendigomon did."

The dragon Digimon reached up and flicked his forehead. "You don't pay attention. That wasn't DNA Digivolving. It was regular Digivolving using teamwork. DNA Digivolving involves two or more completely different yet compatible species of Digimon combining together."

Tai shook his head at that. "I still can't wrap my head around this whole combining thing. How can two people just become one person?"

Shoutmon shrugged. "They just do. It's… um, hard to explain. I've never done it myself. I've only ever DigiFused, and I've still been completely me during those instances. But DNA Digivolving and group Digivolving is a blend of two or more Digimon. Their thoughts, memories, and personality merge together to become a single entity containing both, as if this new being had lived both the lives of the ones that combined to create it. The Digimon that combined will then know the other as personally and as intimately as they know themselves, even after separating. It's for this reason that DNA Digivolving is so rare, due to how personal it is and how in sync the two or more must be to combine. Group Digivolving is a little more common since the Digimon that Digivolve together are of the same species, and thus very similar, but it still doesn't happen too often."

Takuya stared. "Wow, that's pretty deep. And it certainly sounds pretty sound personal."

"Sounds like how fusion works in _Dragon Ball Z_ ," Takato noted. "You know, I'm still waiting for fusion to appear in Pokemon. It's bound to happen at some point."

Shoutmon rolled his eyes and glanced at Leomon, who looked confused. "Just ignore him. He'll randomly talk about things from the human world sometimes."

"Hey, both are really popular anime where we come from."

A thought suddenly occurred to Tai. "Hey, I have a question. When Digimon die, they just revert to Digi-Eggs, but what happens if a Digimon that was created from more than one Digimon dies? Does it split into the eggs of the individual Digimon that make it up, or does it just become a single egg?"

Shoutmon smirked. "Ah, now we're getting into some complicated stuff. Well, with DigiFusion, the combined Digimon simply become individual eggs. The same goes for Bio-Merging since even though they share one body, they're still individuals. With DNA Digivolving and group Digivolving though, it depends. In most cases, they'll become individual eggs. However, in some really rare cases, if the bond between the combine individual Digimon is really deep and they completely blend into each other until there is no longer any distinguishing difference between the two, then they'll become a single egg. Their Digi-Cores will have merged together, and they'll be permanently bound."

He shrugged. "But that only happens after spending years and years as one being. At that point, they won't even want to separate, or even recognize or acknowledge themselves as individuals anymore."

The teens were silent as they listened. "That sounds both beautiful and disturbing at the same time," Tai thought out loud.

"It can be advantageous in the long run," Leomon added. "When a DNA Digivolved Digimon does die and become a single Digi-Egg, the Digimon born from it will be able to Digivolve to the DNA Digivolved form without having to combine with anyone."

"That's convenient," said Davis. "So who's Digi-Egg will appear out of the individuals once the DNA Digimon dies if they do fully merge?"

"The strongest of the group," Shoutmon told him as if this should have been obvious. He pointed at the boy. "In fact, since you were able to go from ExVeemon to Paildramon without having to DNA Digivolve with a Stingmon or a Snimon proves that the Veemon you got your DDNA from was once two that permanently became one after its death. You wouldn't have been able to Digivolve to Paildramon otherwise."

Davis blinked. "Whoa, really? Um, cool, I guess." He looked at his Digivice. "Although, it's not doing us much good right now." As he stared at the object in his hand, it suddenly vanished. It took him a moment to register that it was gone before he screamed. "Ah! Where'd it go?"

"There!" Kari pointed. About a dozen feet away, crouching down with his back to them, was what appeared to be human boy. In his hands was Davis' Digivice, and he was staring at it intently.

The robbed teenager jumped angrily to his feet. "Hey, that's mine, you thief!"

The boy stood up and turned to face them. The teens all gasped. The boy was human alright, but he had a very unusual face. His head was large and almost shaped like a football. His face was flat, with two holes above a _very_ big mouth that served for a nose, and two eyes that seemed a little too big and a little too round. But the most bizarre thing of all, the thing that really disturbed them, was that when the boy had turned to look at them, his body had remained in place while his head turned a complete 180 degrees around.

Takato's hand went to his neck. "Yuck. My neck hurts just looking at that."

Takuya cleared his throat. "Guys, does no one else find it strange that we just ran into another _human?_ "

TK cocked his head to the side. "Is he human? He could be a Digimon. Some Digimon look pretty human. If Angewomon were smaller and didn't have wings, she could pass for human."

Tai had to admit that he had a point. "There's still a distinct difference. More likely he's a Digimon in disguise. Remember Bakemon? Hey, kid, who are you?"

"PA-CAW!" the boy wailed loudly, causing the teens to cover their ears. The boy began laughing and took off in a run, his head shifting forward, Davis' Digivice in his hand.

"Hey, that's mine! Give it back!"

The boy just kept running as they gave chase. He was very fast, and every now and then would have to stop running and wait for them to catch up, his head once again turning around in that disturbing unnatural way to watch them.

"Shoutmon, who is this guy?" Kari asked as they hurried along.

"No clue," the dragon Digimon replied. "Tai could be right though; he might be a Digimon in disguise."

Leomon pulled out his sword. "I'll find out." He jumped up, kicking off a wall of vines before they could grab him, and landed in front of the boy. "Return what you stole."

The boy skidded to a stop. The teens closed in around him on all sides so he had nowhere to go. He didn't seem concerned that he was cornered, his face holding the same blank expression they had seen earlier.

Davis held out his hand. "Give me back my Digivice, you little creep."

The boy looked at the device in his hand, then stared blankly at Davis. With no complaint, he tossed it to him, and Davis caught it in surprise, clearly having expected the boy to put up some kind of fight.

Tai blinked, also having expected the same thing. "Thanks. Now, who are you?"

The boy continued to stare. Then a rather sinister smile crept up his face and he began laughing. The flabbergasted teens looked on in bewilderment as his laughter continued to rise in volume. The boy, it seemed, was completely insane.

"What's so funny?" Shoutmon demanded, clearly annoyed.

The boy stopped laughing as his head spun _completely_ around in a full 360 degree turn. "You fell for it!" he announced gleefully. "You fell for it! You fell for it!"

"Fell for what?" TK demanded.

The boy grinned. "Just take a look around."

They did, and they immediately saw the problem. They were in a closed off space, and the vines were on the move, coming for them. They were completely surrounded, and they had foolishly left their fire behind when they went to chase the boy.

"Oh, great," Shoutmon grumbled. _"Fiery Fastball! Fiery Fastball! Bellow Blaster! Fiery Fastball!"_

His fiery attacks burned away the vines, but there were too many, and several took the pace of the ones he destroyed.

" _Fist of the Beast King!"_ Leomon cried, blasting away a gathering of greenery. "It's no good. I can destroy handfuls at a time, but more just keep coming. And my attacks don't contain fire."

"And mine aren't enough to keep away this many for long," Shoutmon declared as he threw another _Fiery Fastball_.

The boy was laughing madly as his head spun around in a horrific fashion. _"We're going to get you! We're going to get you! Not another peep! Time to go to sleep! We're going to get you! We're going to get you!"_

Tai had heard enough of the boy's eerie song. "Oh no you're not. _"Execute! Spirit Evolution… MetalGreymon!"_ He turned to the vines. _"Powerful Flame!"_

He slashed at the air, sending out a stream of fire from his metal claw. The vines recoiled as the group was surrounded by a circle of flames.

The boy's eyes narrowed irritably as he stared at the cyborg dinosaur Digimon. MetalGreymon turned to him, tall and menacingly powerful, but the boy didn't seem worried about him, or the lion Digimon that was now pointing his sword at him threateningly. "Enough of your games. Who are you, villain?"

That wide sadistic smile spread across the boy's face again. "You little pests are proving to be quite the nuisance. We have a mission to do, and you are being a real bother."

"If you're involved with all his, then you must work for Argomon!" Takato exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Just who are you?"

The boy chuckled again, and he was suddenly engulfed in light. It faded quickly, and he stood transformed. At first it seemed that only his clothes had changed, but then the teens realized he was now covered in brown hair, looking very much like an overgrown monkey. "I am Makuramon, and I have been tasked with the job of putting you to sleep, or destroying you if I can't."

Davis scoffed. "Please. You?" He patted MetalGreymn's leg. "Have you seen this guy?"

TK took out his Digivice. "Lets not jumped to conclusions just yet." He checked the monkey Digimon's information. "Sorry, Davis, but you're about to eat your own words. Makuramon is an Ultimate level Digimon. He's one of the strongest of the twelve Deva Digimon, and he can use his _Primal Orb_ attack to throw an exploding orb, or even control it to hit his enemies over and over again."

"What does that mean?" Takuya asked.

The monkey Digimon grinned. "This is what it means. _Primal Orb!"_

In an instant, what looked like a pearl the size of a baseball appeared in his hand, and he flung it at the cyborg dinosaur Digimon with lightning speed. Glowing red, it flew at MetalGreymon faster than he could react, slamming into his metal headgear.

The cyborg dinosaur Digimon cried out and stumbled back, Makuramon's attack actually managing to lift him off his feet for a moment. The orb immediately doubled back, under the monkey Digimon's mental control, and struck him again and again.

"Hold on!" Leomon shouted, jumping up to catch the flying sphere. The orb immediately flew at him, slamming into his gut before he even realized it had changed targets, then collided with his chin, knocking him back before flying towards MetalGreymon again.

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Angemon!"_

Flying in front of his friend, he used _Angel Staff_ to deflect the orb. It went off course, but immediately came back. Angemon began twirling his staff again, but this time the orb exploded upon making contact, and Angemon went crashing into a wall of vines as Makuramon laughed. They began to coil around him, but Shoutmon warded them off with a _Fiery Fastball_.

Still chuckling, Makuramon sneered at Davis. "So, do you still think I'm a pushover?"

The boy gripped his currently still useless Digivice. "You are a pushover, and if I could Spirit Evolve, I'd show you."

The monkey Digimon just grinned. "Oh, you simpleton. Perhaps you need to discover just how helpless you are. _Treasure Ball!"_

A transparent bubble appeared around the teens and Shoutmon. They suddenly found themselves about one inch tall, trapped in an orb in Makuramon's hand. He held them up to his now very large eye and grinned. "Hello in there."

Leomon got to his feet, stumbling. "What… did you do to them?"

The monkey Digimon chuckled. "Lets just say they're insurance."

Feeling like his entire body, even the mechanical parts, were bruised, MetalGreymon stalked towards him. "Let them go," he raised his metal claw threateningly, "or I swear, I'll-"

Makuramon held out his hand while holding the one gripping the orb containing his friends in the air. "Hold it! I haven't told you the best part yet. All I have to do is crush this orb in my hand and your friends are finished."

MetalGreymon froze. Leomon did as well, standing beside the cyborg dinosaur Digimon with his sword pointing at Makuramon. Angemon flew over and landed beside them, glaring at him from beneath his helmet. "What do you want?"

A wicked chuckle escaped the monkey Digimon. "Lets play a little game. If you win, I'll release your friends. But if I win…" His grip on the orb visibly tightened. "Well, I'm sure you catch my drift."

Angemon's own grip on his staff tightened. "What game?"

"It's called _The Spider and the Fly_. You, my friends, will be the little flies. The vines will be the web."

MetalGreymon's eyes narrowed. "And I guess you're the spider."

Makuramon laughed. "Of course not. I'm a monkey. _That's_ the spider."

He pointed behind them. They turned around to see something large and white speeding towards them. They jumped aside as the large _thing_ crashed into where they had been. Claws attached to flexible spider-like legs slithered out of the creature's body as if it were a turtle that had been hiding in its shell. It's long neck extended outward as well, equally as flexible. Turning to face the three Digimon, it looked every bit like a spider.

"Say hello to Infermon," Makuramon told them as a spherical barrier appeared around him, and he floated into the air. "She'll be playing the spider. The object of the game is to make it out of her web alive."

Inside the orb he held, Davis blinked. "Wait, that thing is a girl?" His hand went to his throat as his voice came out high-pitched and squeaky. "Ah! My voice! I sound like one of the chipmunks!"

"Davis!" the others cried, their voices equally as squeaky.

Infermon opened her mouth, the barrier of a gun sticking out of her throat. _"Spider Shooter!"_

Exploding projectiles flew from her mouth, the force snapping her head back with each blast. Leomon jumped away, but MetalGreymon was too big and too slow to avoid them, and he cried out as one blasted against him. Angemon flew in front of him, twirling his staff, but the blasts simply exploded against his staff rather than get deflated, and the angel Digimon was knocked further and further back with each blast until he ran into MetalGreymon.

The cyborg dinosaur Digimon moved in font of Angemon and launched his _Mega Claw_. Infermon used her legs like a springboard, bouncing out of the claw's path. MetalGreymon turned to her, firing his _Giga Blaster_ , but Infermon was too fast, springing from one spot to another.

The spider Digimon's legs retracted into her body, as did her head, and she used her _Network Grenade_ to launch herself like a giant missile at the group. Angemon fired his _Hand of Fate_ , but the beam just bounced off her body like it was nothing. She plowed into him, sending the angel Digimon spinning through the air, and knocking MetalGreymon to the side as she collided with his arm.

" _Hundred Beast Fists!"_ Leomon cried, firing numerous smaller versions of his _Fist of the Beast King_ attacks in a continuous stream. Infermon came about, the energy bursts in the shape of lion heads flying all around her. She flew towards the lion Digimon, still curled up like a giant speeding bullet, the attacks blasting against her harmlessly. Leomon lowered his fist and raised his sword. He rushed forward to meet her, only to be sent flying as the two collided.

Infermon kept going, even after knocking Leomon away, but was stopped as MetalGreymon moved in her path, grabbing hold of her. The claws on his feet dug into the ground as he struggled to hold the spider Digimon back. Infermon's mouth opened and she began firing into MetalGreymon's bare stomach, the only protection he had being his metal chest.

Angemon came flying in, bringing his staff down on Infermon's back, but it simply snapped in two. He flew back and fired his _Holy Shot_ , but the spider Digimon's body was too hard, and the energy bullets did nothing.

One of Infermon's legs shot out of her body and punched the angel Digimon in the gut, causing him to doubled over as the teens and Shoutmon looked on helplessly from up above. Makuramon, however, seemed to find the display to be most amusing, and he gave his victims an arrogant sneer. "It looks like your friends are losing the game."

Kari glared at him. "They're not losing."

"Yeah!" Takato cried. "They may be having a tough time, but they're not losing."

"You're forgetting the point of the game," a new voice replied. Floating down from up above. Darcmon had made an appearance. "The flies never fight the spider, because they can't win."

"Darcmon," Takuya growled at the angel Digimon.

She didn't even bother to look at him. "Your friends aren't strong enough to beat Infermon. Their destruction is eminent."

Shoutmon growled. "That's what you think." He produced his mic and began banging it against the wall. "Let us out of here!"

"Quiet down," Makuramon ordered, and shook the orb, "or I'll kill you all right now."

MetalGreymon raised his metal arm and brought it down on Infermon's back. The spider Digimon grunted as she hit the ground, her legs shooting out and springing her away from the cyborg dinosaur Digimon while simultaneously opening her mouth to fire her _Spider Shooter_ at him.

Leomon suddenly jumped on her back and punched down on her back with his _Shockwave_ attack. Infermon's head twisted around, and she began firing at him. He used his sword to knock away the projectiles and fired his _Fist of the Beast King_ into her face, causing her neck to snap back.

" _Smashing Kick!"_ he cried, delivering a roundhouse kick to the spider Digimon's head. She grunted, and one of her clawed appendages smacked him away.

Angemon raised his hand and drew a halo in the air. His _Halo Attack_ appeared horizontally around Infermon's body and began to squeeze. She grunted as the ring of light tightened, and MetalGreymon charged forward and tackled her. The spider Digimon growled and clawed at the non-metal parts of MetalGreymon's body as Angemon's _Halo Attack_ squeezed tighter, cutting into her. She extended her neck past MetalGreymon and began firing at the angel Digimon, but Angemon swerved around in the air, dodging the projectiles.

Darcmon frowned in disapproval. "Useless, the lot of them. _Dancing Sword!"_ She threw her sword, and it stabbed into Infermon's side, severing the ring of light. Infermon snarled in pain, but was freed from the threat of being cut in half, and she pulled the sword from her side, her marble-like skin having protected her from too much damage.

Angemon looked up, his eyes widening with recognition beneath his helmet. He immediately flew at the female angel Digimon, creating a new staff and swinging it at her. Darcmon blocked with her own staff and pulled out her other sword. Angemon's hand shot out, grabbing her wrist before she could strike him with it, and the two wrestled in the air.

Angemon didn't know why, but for some reason, he felt a great animosity towards her. Possibly because she was an angel Digimon that chose to be wicked. It made him feel greatly insulted on behalf of Kari and all other angel Digimon out there, along with what they represented.

"Let go!" Darcmon snarled, and kicked him in the chest.

Angemon grunted and flew back. She threw her sword at him and he knocked it away with his staff. He was about to attack again when Makuramon moved in front of her and held up the orb containing his friends. "Ah, ah, ah. I'll crush it. And remember, if this orb is destroyed, everything inside it will be destroyed too."

Angemon froze as he watched the monkey Digimon's grip tighten on the orb his friends were trapped in. Angrily, Darcmon sprang out from behind Makuramon's back and struck him with her staff, knocking him to the ground, then turned to the two quarreling Digimon. "Infermon, stop fooling around! Finish it!"

The spider Digimon glanced at MetalGreymon on top of her and used her legs to spring them both in the air. She retracted her limbs into her body and plowed into the cyborg dinosaur Digimon. Two of her limbs shot out, one grabbing Leomon, the other nabbing Angemon, pulling them along for the ride until she smashed MetalGreymon into the wall. She slammed the two Champions against the wall beside him and leapt back, her mouth opening. _"Spider Shooter!"_

Exploding projectiles rained against the three Digimon. MetalGreymon attempted to use his much larger body to shield his friends, but that left him open to the attacks. The barrage of attacks kept coming without giving any of them a chance to retaliate.

Makuramon laughed. "Uh oh, looks like the spider caught them." He sneered at the teens in his orb. "I guess it's game over."

"Not yet," a powerful voice spoke beside him.

Both Makuramon and Darcmon turned, only to be struck by something. A metal rod flew through the air, smacking the orb out of Makuramon's hand before it stabbed into his gut and then came down on his head. Darcmon only caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a gorilla ninja on a cloud before the rod struck her in the side of the head.

The attacker suddenly dropped from the sky. They were indeed riding a cloud, enabling them to fly down and catch the orb before it hit the ground. The teens stopped screaming as they realized they weren't dead, and looked up at their rescuer.

Jumping off the cloud, the newcomer placed the orb on his fluffy ride. "Stay here," he said before rushing towards the others.

Shoutmon raised an eyebrow and glanced at the transparent walls of the orb they were trapped in. "Is he serious?"

Infermon was still firing at MetalGreymon and the others, mostly MetalGreymon. The newcomer stopped a short distance away from her and pointed his staff at her. _"Super-Electrified Lighting Cannon!"_

A burst of energy flew out of the end of his staff, exploding into the spider Digimon's side. Infermon cried out and was sent tumbling on her side.

The blasts against his body ceased, and MetalGreymon sighed, his body sagging. Both Angemon and Leomon poked their heads out from behind the cyborg dinosaur Digimon, the latter gasping as he recognized the one who had come to their aid. "Gokuwmon!"

Infermon snarled as she turned to the beast man Digimon. Her eyes narrowed as he took a fighting stance, pointing his staff at her. "Don't interfere!"

"Leave now," Gokuwmon warned, an air of complete calm around him.

Up in the air, Darcmon was rubbing her head where she had been hit. She turned her furious gaze upon the newcomer and shouted to the spider Digimon. "Infermon, kill that interloper!"

"With pleasure. _Spider Shooter!"_

" _Secret Technique: Waking Shadow!"_

As Infermon fired her projectiles, Gokuwmon moved with astounding speed. Behind him, he left after images of himself that Infermon's attacks passed harmlessly through. In just a few seconds, he had closed the gap between them and Infermon swiped at him. He jumped up, soaring over her head and landing on her back. _"Lightning-Speed Attack!"_

Stabbing downward with his staff, he jammed the end into Infermon's back. At the same time, the other end extended up into the sky, into a thundercloud that suddenly appeared at his command. Lightning was absorbed into the staff, shooting down its length and striking Infermon in one powerful electric attack, causing her to shriek.

"Now's our chance," Angemon declared. _"Hand of Fate!"_

" _Fist of the Beast King!"_

" _Giga Destroyer!"_

The attacks flew at the writhing spider Digimon. Gokuwmon quickly jumped off her back, his staff regressing back to its normal length, just before Infermon was blasted into data.

Anger twisted Darcmon's features at this unexpected development. "Can they do nothing right?" And with that, she took off.

Gokuwmon approached the others, all signs of hostility gone. "Are you alright?"

"Thanks to you," Angemon told him. "Who are you?"

It was Leomon who stepped forward to answer. "This is Gokuwmon. He's one of the companions I was separated from." He held out his hand. "I am glad you are well."

The beast man Digimon grasped it. "As am I. And I see you have made some new friends." He looked at the orb on his cloud. "Some rather unique friends."

A smile crept up the lion Digimon's face. "Unique is right. In more ways than you know."

" _Primal Orb!"_

Gokuwmon moved quickly. Using his staff, he whirled around and hit Makuramon's orb in what would have undoubtedly been a homerun if they were playing baseball. That is, if it hadn't had doubled back and sped towards them again, but a quick blast from Gokuwmon's _Super-Electrified Lightning Cannon_ blew it apart.

Twirling his staff around, he pointed it at the monkey Digimon. Makuramon took a step back, scowling, but then smiled as he held out his hand. "You're supposed to keep your eye on the ball."

The orb on the cloud containing the teens and Shoutmon suddenly flew into his hand. Gokuwmon scowled as the monkey Digimon chuckled. Twirling his staff, he stabbed it into the ground and unleashed his _Lightning-Speed Attack_. Makuarmon cried out as he was electrocuted through the ground.

Angemon charged at him, reaching for his friends in the monkey Digimon's hand, but Makuramon recovered quickly and jumped into the air, no longer smiling. "That does it! Say goodbye to your friends!" He began to squeeze the orbs, causing cracks to appear over it. But as he squeezed, a light shined from it. He gave the orb a confused look. "That's not supposed to happen."

The orb shattered, not from being crushed, but from something inside bursting out. Suddenly, he was surrounded by Paildramon, WarGrowlmon, BurningGreymon, and Angewomon.

The monkey Digimon's already round eyes widened even further. "What?! They broke free?! Where'd they get the power to do that?"

"Over here, banana brain." In Angewomon's arms was Gigimon. "I gave them my energy to recharge their Digivices."

Paildramon's hip-guns rose. "Now, how about a new game. It's called _Following the Leader_. You lead, we follow you, straight to Argomon."

Makuramon scowled at him, but then broke into a smile. "PA-CAWWWWW!" His cry emitted so loudly that the ground shook, forcing the DigiDestined to cover their ears. Makuramon jumped up and created another orb. "How about a game of catch instead."

He threw his _Primal Orb_ that struck the dragon Digimon before he could react. It then circled round and hit the other three. Makuramon's floating orb barrier appeared around him again, and he took off into the sky, laughing all the while.

"Hey, stop, you!" BurningGreymon shouted, gathering fire in his hands.

Gokuwmon was suddenly there, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright. Let him go."

"What?!" WarGrowlmon exclaimed as the monkey Digimon disappeared above the vines. "But we need him to show us where Argomon is."

"There is no need for that," the beast man Digimon assured him. "I know where he is."

 **(A/N: Well, that was certainly eventful. I decided to make this Infermon a girl for some gender diversity, as most characters seem to be male, and Infermon seems like it could either ale or female. But enough of that. It looks like our heroes are finally getting somewhere. Leomon has been reunited with one of his companions, and they know where Argomon is. But what exactly are these keycards he and Darcmon are searching for, and what do they do? It certainly can't be anything good. Hopefully they'll get some answers next time.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Makuramon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Infermon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Gokuwmon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Gigimon**


	52. Chapter 52: In The Garden of Argomon

**(A/N: I had forgotten that the latest episodes of** _ **Digimon Tri**_ **had come out. Just saw them recently, and they were awesome. The action is so much better than in the previous Seasons, and the story is a lot darker too. Props to them.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 52: In The Garden of Argomon**

"And that's about the time when you showed up," Takuya concluded as the group walked along.

Floating beside them, Gokuwmon sat on his cloud as Gigimon sat on his head. "I see. You humans have been through much."

"Tell me about it," said TK. "This whole journey could fill several Seasons of an anime."

Takato glanced at Gokuwmon, then down at the cloud he was sitting on. "Speaking of anime, doesn't this guy kind of remind you of a certain someone from _Dragon Ball Z?_ "

Gigimon groaned. "Please don't get started on your Human World nonsense again; I can't keep up with it."

" _You_ can't keep up?" Davis exclaimed. "How do you think we feel with all this Digital World stuff?"

"Hey, I've been around since the Digital World began, and after all I've learned in that time, it's your world the confusing me, thus it's your world that's the weird one."

"I do not think it is weird," Leomon explained, "just different from what we know. I for one find it fascinating."

Gokuwmon crossed his arms. "I must admit, I too am curious about your world. It sounds quite intriguing."

"Intriguing?" Gigimon grumbled. "Let me tell you about it." He jumped off the beast man Digimon's head to land on the cloud… only to pass right through it and land on his head.

Kari winced. "Gigimon, are you ok?"

The lesser Digimon had dizzy swirls in his eyes. "What happened?"

Gokuwmon closed his eyes. "Only those who are pure of heart can ride on this cloud."

Davis grinned broadly down at Gigimon. "I guess you've been naughty."

The lesser Digimon glared at him. "Yeah, well, I'd like to see you try."

"No problem. Do you mind?"

Gokuwmon shrugged and got off the cloud. Still smirking, Davis jumped up onto it… and fell straight through, landing facedown on top of Gigimon.

"See, not so easy," the lesser Digimon mumbled beneath him.

Davis groaned as he lifted his face out of the dirt. "I tink I bi' muh tung."

"In more ways than one," TK joked.

Leaping to his feet, Davis pointed at him. "Oh yeah, well why don't you try, TM."

The blonde hesitated before shrugging. Placing his hands on the cloud, he hoisted himself up, and stayed on. Gokuwmon raised an eyebrow, impressed. "Nicely done. Not many can stay on."

Sour-faced, Davis looked away. "Big deal."

"Can I try?" Kari asked. She grasped TK's hand, and he pulled her up. She too sat down comfortably.

"Guess that's two for, two against," said Takuya. "My turn." He spun around and leapt back onto the cloud, only to land painfully on his rear end as he went through.

"That had to hurt," Takato muttered. "You ok?"

"My… tailbone…"

"Yeah, that looked painful," TK agreed as he and Kari slid off the cloud to help him up. "You wanna try, Takato?"

The other boy sweat-dropped. "Um, no, that's ok."

Davis came up behind him, a mischievous smile on his face. "Oh, come on, give it a try."

He pushed Takato forward. He stumbled and lost his balance, reaching out for anything. He ended up grabbing the cloud, and was able to stop his fall. It took him a moment to realize that the cloud hadn't rejected him. "Oh." He climbed on, making himself comfortable. "Cool."

Davis scowled. "How are you doing that?"

"Just don't have any impure thoughts," Gokuwmon explained. "Your arrogance probably made you fall through before. Rid yourself of all negativity."

Pouting, Davis stared at the cloud. "Ok, banish any negative thoughts." Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, turned around with his arms out, and jumped onto the cloud. His bottom landed on the soft cloud beside Takato. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and grinned. "Hey, I did it! Ah!" He fell through again, ending up on his back. The others laughed, and even Gokuwmon cracked a smile. Groaning, Davis glanced up at his look-alike. "Wanna try?"

Tai had been the only one who hadn't laughed. "No, and this isn't the time to be playing games." He turned to the beast man Digimon. "How much further until we get to Argomon?"

Gokuwmon climbed back onto his cloud. "A few more hours at our current pace. I didn't see any guards when I was there last. It seems he's quite arrogant with his power."

"So, wait, you were actually there?" TK asked.

The beast man Digimon nodded. "I was. I saw Darcmon flying and I followed her. I was going to stage an attack, but then I heard her and Argomon talk about going after you. So I followed her and arrived just in time to assist you."

"And we really appreciate that," Kari told him.

"What of our friends?" Leomon asked worriedly. "Have you heard anything from them?"

Gokuwmon sighed and closed his eyes. "Wisemon was with me for a few days after we were separated. Sadly, he was destroyed by one of Argomon's servants. I am sorry."

"No…" Leomon whispered. He dropped to his knees, his despair evident. "And what of Sanzomon?"

"Captured," Gokuwmon replied. "She must have found Argomon as well. I saw her sleeping in a pod when I followed Darcmon to Argomon's location."

Leomon's fists clenched and he punched the ground. "One destroyed, and another one captured. Then only you and I are left to defeat Argomon."

"Only us?" Gokuwmon replied. He shook his head. "No, my friend, it's not just us. Just look around you. These brave humans are ready and willing to fight by our side for a noble cause."

Takuya placed a hand on Leomon's shoulder. "Yeah, we've got your back. We'll free Sanzomon and avenge Wisemon at the same time."

The lion Digimon managed a small smile. "You are kind. I thank you." He stood up, looking more determine. "Yes, we will put a stop to this. And we'll find Wisemon again one day, or whatever Digivolution route he takes. I am certain of it." He looked back at the beast man Digimon. "Gokuwmon, lead the way."

(-)-(-)(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

The sun was close to setting when Gokuwmon commanded them to stop. The vines were thick here, offering very little opening to get through them. And, worst of all, he had ordered them to put their torch out.

"We don't want to alert Argomon to our presence. No fire, and no touching the vines."

"Easy for you to say," Davis mumbled, eyeing the floating cloud he was sitting on.

"Just hold onto me," the beast man Digimon told him. "Or sit on my lap. So long as you don't touch any of the vines."

The final result was Gokuwmon sitting cross-legged on his cloud with a blushing Davis on his lap and Gigimon on his head. Leomon stood on the cloud behind him holding Tai and Takuya in his arms while the remaining teens squeezed in where they could on the cloud.

"Argomon is just ahead," the beast man Digimon told them. "Keep your voices low, and don't touch anything."

They hovered along over the vines. As they approached Argomon's base of operation, a sigh escaped TK. Kari looked at him curiously and lowered her voice. "Hey, you ok?"

He glanced at her, and offered a small smile. "Yeah, just thinking."

"About?"

He hesitated for a few moments. "It's just, I'm the only one that hasn't Digivolved yet. It makes me wonder how useful I'll be in the battle with Argomon."

She stared at him for a few moments, waiting for him to continue. When he didn't a light chuckled escaped her. "That's what you're worried about?" At his nod, a second chuckle escaped her. "Oh, TK, that's silly. Of course you're useful. Even if you're not an Ultimate, you have enough power to fight on equal ground with us. You've been a big help so far, and you'll continue to be."

TK's fists clenched. "Yeah, but I don't just want to help, I want to be able to protect all of you. I want to Digivolve too and be able to take on these evil freaks. You've all managed to Digivolve, so why can't I?"

Sighing, she reached out and took his hand. "It'll happen, TK. I know it will. I have faith in you. When the time is right, you'll find the power. I know it."

The clearing of a throat drew their attention, and Gokuwmon glanced over his shoulder at them. "If you two are almost finished, we're here."

Before the group was a massively tall dome of greenery. Gokuwmon motioned towards it, and the group shifted around on the cloud. Small spaces between individual vines allowed them to see through, and they peaked through the openings. They couldn't see much, but all the vines seemed to be originating from a large pile within the clearing.

"Argomon is in there? Kari asked.

Gokuwmon nodded. "Yes, but right now he's in his Worm Phase form."

Takuya made a face. "Gross. What's that?"

"It's the form he takes in order to spread his vines," Leomon explained. "He can still attack in it, but he's limited in his attacks and unable to move from his position."

"Ok," said TK, "then would it be better to attack while he's immobile but in control of his vines, or when he's able to move around but can't control his vines?"

"Hey, it doesn't even need to come to that," said Davis. "Lets just hit him with a sneak attack. We'll wipe him out before he even knows we're here."

"Shh! Tai shushed, even louder than his look-alike had been talking. "If we don't keep our voices down, we'll get caught before we even have a chance to-"

"PA-CAW!"

Makuramon's fuzzy face suddenly appeared upside-down on the other side of the space they were looking through. The group started back in surprise as the monkey Digimon laughed. The entire wall of vines suddenly collapsed on top of them, wrapping around their arms, legs, and torso in seconds. Even Leomon and the Ultimate level Gokuwmon were ensnared.

Makuramon continued laughing as he hung upside-down from his tail. "You caught them! You caught them!" He dropped down and began dancing backwards. "You see, Lord Argomon, I told you they would come."

"And you were right," a mighty voice boomed from the top of the large pile of vines in the clearing.

The vines pulled the group along as Makuramon danced beside them. They were lifted up the pile to the very top and came face to face with Argomon. All they could see were his head and shoulders, the rest of him being concealed by the vines growing from his body. He was humanoid in appearance, and seemed to be wearing a mask. Just behind him stood Darcmon, a knowing smile on her face and a look in her eyes that promised much suffering.

"So," said Argomon, "you are the ones causing all the trouble."

" _Us_ causing trouble!?" Tai exclaimed. "Have you looked around? Your vines are everywhere."

The mutant Digimon smirked. "Yes, a lovely bit of greenery, isn't it?"

"Hey," Davis snapped as he struggled against his bonds, "having a garden is one thing, but this is going too far."

"Why are you doing this?" Kari demanded. "Spreading your vines everywhere, trapping other Digimon and putting them into a coma. What's the point of it?"

Argomon frowned slightly. "Not that it's any of your business, little girl, but I am searching for something."

Takuya scowled. "And you couldn't have just put up fliers or asked around?"

"What I seek was deliberately hidden away. Even the few that know of the keycards would feign ignorance."

"Keycards?" Takato repeated.

Argomon went on as if there had been no interruption. "The keycards open a door to a great and terrible power. The secret has been heavily guarded for thousands of years. No one that knows about them would give them up willingly."

Darcmon smirked. "Which is why Lord Argomon used his vines to claim this area and capture anyone that may interfere. Now his servants can freely search the area. It also gives him a nice bit of territory to rule afterwards too."

TK glared. "We don't know about any keycards," he pointed at the angel Digimon, "but we do know that Darcmon is just using you. She said as much herself."

Darcmon gave the mutant Digimon a look of pure shock and outage. "What!? Why, that is preposterous! Lord Argomon, you know that I live to serve you."

"Cut the act!" Davis snapped. "We know you're really the one behind everything. You're just manipulating Argomon and using him to do your dirty work."

"Yeah," Takato agreed, "she's probably planning on taking the power for herself once you get it; maybe even dispose of you once you lived out your usefulness."

Darcmon scoffed. "Ridiculous. My lord, surely you don't believe these lies. It's pure nonsense. I'm only a Champion; how could I possibly overthrow you. Even if I could Digivolve, not even my Ultimate form is strong enough to stand up to you, let alone control the ancient power."

"She's playing you!" Gigimon shouted. "She knows she's not strong enough to stand up to you, so she's running things behind the scenes. Wasn't she the one who told you about the keycards in the first place? Just think about it. How many of the things you've done has she suggested? How often have you taken her advice? When was the last time you-"

"It's no use, Gigimon," Leomon interrupted. "You'll never get him to believe you; he's far too arrogant to think he could be deceived like that."

Davis snorted. "That figures. Hey, Argomon, guess what. There's a movie in our world called _Argo_ that had a play-on phrase that I think applies here. It goes 'argo f-'"

"ENOUGH!" Argomon thundered. "You humans have interfered for far too long. Now it's time for you to sleep too. _Imprisonment!"_

Then vines around them began to secrete the strange sap that formed the sleep-inducing pods. The group struggled, but were too ensnared to break free from the green tentacles.

Makuramon laughed. "Have a nice nap, 'cause you're going to be sleeping for a very long time."

Gigimon glared. "Not today. _Gigimon Digivolve to… Shoutmon!"_ The change allowed him to burst free of the vines, and his mic immediately appeared in his hand. _"Bellow Blaster!"_

He unleashed a blaze of energy upon the vines. The green tentacles either burned up or recoiled from the flames; either way, everyone was released, and they scrambled to wipe off the goop covering them.

Argomon's face twisted with anger. "Damn you!"

Tai pulled out his Digivice. "If you think we're nuisances now, just wait until you see this. _Execute! Spirit Evolution… MetalGreymon!"_

 _"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Paildramon!"_

 _"Execute! Spirit Evolution… WarGrowlmon!"_

 _"Execute! Spirit Evolution… BurningGreymon!"_

 _"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Angewomon!"_

 _"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Angemon!"_

Gokuwmon and Leomon stepped up beside their friends. "And we will fight too," the latter replied.

"So will I," said Shoutmon. He hesitated a moment before taking a few steps back. "From over here."

Back-flipping over to the mutant Digimon, Makuramon settled by Argomon and Darcmon. "Oh my, I do believe they intend to fight us."

"So it seems," the angel Digimon replied. "Better bring in our _special_ friend."

"A wise decision," Argomon agreed. "Come forth, my assassin! Come destroy these fools!"

The DigiDestined braced themselves for whatever enemy might appear, but nothing could have prepared them for the horrific sight. Flying above the vines on black bat wings and coming in for a landing was arguably the most sinister Digimon they had seen thus far. It resembled the skeletal corpse of a demon wielding a staff. Despite the fact that it looked like a dried out zombie, it seemed far more durable than the fragile rotting carcasses most movies portrayed them as.

A wicked sneer spread across Darcmon's face. "Meet SkullSatamon, our trump card in taking out anyone who dares to oppose us."

WarGrowlmon shivered at the sinister creature. Even VenomMyotismon, while much larger, was more appealing to look at. "SkullSatamon? Yikes. I'd hate to see what Satamon looks like."

"There is no Satamon," Shoutmon snapped impatiently. "And this guy's no joking matter. If you think he looks scary, just wait until you see his power. H's an Ultimate, but his power borders on Mega."

"He will indeed be a formidable opponent," Leomon acknowledged. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed Gokuwmon staring at the demon Digimon. "Hey, you ok?"

The beast man Digimon's fist clenched, his face twisting into suppressed fury. "It's him. He's the one who killed Wisemon."

"What?!" Leomon gasped.

The demon Digimon's shoulders shook with silent mirth. "Yes, I remember you, and your friend. Such a sad little creature he was, and what a cowardly weakling you were to flee from me."

Gokuwmon's eyes narrowed. "Twist the truth around all you want. We both know that isn't what happened."

"Regardless," Darcmon declared, taking to the air, "this is as far as you go. You'll either die here, or end up like your friend." She pointed with her staff. Over in the corner was another pod. Inside it was a female Digimon that resembled a priestess, seemingly unaware of what was going on outside.

"Sanzomon!" Leomon exclaimed. Gokuwmon had told her that she had been captured, but it didn't make it any easier to see her like that. And crawling out from behind her pod, were several of the insect Digimon that they had seen flying above the vines, looking ready at any moment to attack.

"It's your choice," Darcmon told them. "You can either go to sleep, or die."

Paildramon yawned. "Well, I could use a nice long nap."

The angel Digimon smirked as Argomon's vines began moving in. "In that case…"

"But not for that long of a nap. _Electric Bolt!"_

He threw a bolt of electricity at her. Darcmon swerved to avoid it as Argomon's face twisted with fury. "Slaughter them!"

SkullSatamon cackled loudly. "Excellent, _Skull Hammer!"_

Moving so fast that he could hardly be seen, he sped through the air, coming to a stop in front of Angewomon. He swung his staff, hitting her in the gut, and when she doubled over, he brought it down on her head before speeding towards Gokuwmon. The beast man Digimon jumped up and away, but SkullSatamon flew up after him and sent him back down with a whack of his staff.

It had all happened in just a few short seconds, but it was enough time for MetalGreymon to recover from his surprise at SkullSatamon's speed and take a step forward. The demon Digimon immediately pointed his staff at him and a ray of red light flowed out and shined over the cyborg dinosaur Digimon. Sparks flowed over MetalGreymon's body, and he froze in his tracks.

SkullSatamon emitted a deranged cackle. "Next."

Vanishing with his speed, he appeared in front of Paildramon and swung his staff. The dragon Digimon dodged, surprising SkullSatamon, and Paildramon glared at him. "Did you think you were the only fast one? _Sting Strike!"_

SkullSatamon moved to the side and grabbed the lance. This time when he used his _Skull Hammer_ , he landed the blow. His next target was WarGrowlmon, and he sped towards him, swinging his staff. The cyborg dinosaur raised an arm, blocking the attack, though his whole arm trembled with the effort.

"Enough of that." His other arm came up, smacking SkullSatamon's away. He then fired his _Atomic Blaster_ , the beams from his chest blasting the demon Digimon up and away.

Leomon had shifted his attention to Darcmon, firing his _Hundred Beast Fist._ The angel Digimon swerved around, avoiding the stream of lion-head shaped energy blasts as she flew towards him. _"Dancing Sword!"_

Leomon raised his arms to defend himself, a useless attempt against Darcmon's blade, but the sword never found its mark. When he lowered his arms, he found Angemon in front of him, having blocked the sword with his staff. Frustration was written all over Darcmon's face as she futilely pushed against Angemon's staff. "You're really getting on my nerves."

A cocky smirked crept up Angemon's face. "But we never finished our battle."

"Believe me, boy, you don't want to finish this."

 _"Beast Sword!"_ Leomon cried, swinging his own sword.

Darcmon whipped out her other sword, blocking his blade. The two Digimon pushing against her were beginning to overpower her. She broke away, flying up into the sky, out of Leomon's reach, cutting through the _Fist of the Beast King_ attack he fired at her. Angemon went up to meet her, and Darcmon came at him, swinging her swords.

On the ground, Angewomon forced herself to her feet. She looked around, seeing Angemon and Darcmon engaged in battle in the air. And right beneath them, frozen in place, was her brother. "MetalGreymon. MetalGreymon! Hey, Tai, snap out of it!"

"He can't," SkullSatamon cackled as he flew back over. "I've disrupted his data. He won't find it so easy to get out of that state. I can even render a Mega immobile, so a mere Ultimate is nothing to me."

Angewomon whirled to face him, firing her _Heaven's Charm_. SkullSatamon countered with his _Bone Blaster_ , firing a yellow beam from his staff. The two attacks collided and exploded in a blast of holy and demonic energy.

Through the smoke, Gokuwmon leapt at SkullSatamon. The demon Digimon swung his staff at him, but his attack went straight through. He turned away from the after image as Gokuwmon flew up behind him on his cloud and blocked the beast man Digimon's staff with his own. His other hand shot out, wrapping around Gokuwmon's neck, squeezing tightly.

 _"Celestial Arrow!"_ Angewomon cried, firing an arrow at SkullSatamon. The demon Digimon glanced over his shoulder and whirled around. Gokuwmon cried out as the arrow struck him in the back. Angewomon gasped in horror at what she had done as SkullSatamon cackled. He kicked the beast man Digimon at her, and she caught him.

 _"Bone Blaster!"_ he cried, blasting both Digimon at the same time. Both fell from the sky as SkullSatamon grinned. Behind him, Gokuwmon's cloud continued to hover in the air, and he caused it to disperse by swiping his staff through it.

WarGrowlmon charged at the demon Digimon. "I guess I didn't hit you hard enough. _Radiation Blade!"_

He swiped his glowing blade, but SkullSatamon somehow blocked it with his staff and sneered at him. WarGrowlmon glared back, and then toppled over as something struck his head. Dazed, he looked around for what had hit him and saw small round object flying around wildly. It flew through the air, and Makuramon snatched it as the orb returned to him. "You didn't forget about me, did you? _Primal Orb!"_

SkullSatamon drifted back as Makuramon's attack hit WarGrowlmon again. The cyborg dinosaur Digimon swiped at it as it came again, knocking it away, but it kept coming.

 _"Megalo Spark!"_ he cried, firing electricity from his chest. The orb pulled back, avoiding the attack, and then slammed into WarGrowlmon again once the electricity ceased. He dropped down to one knee, seeing stars, but was repeatedly struck again and again as Makuramon laughed.

Something landed on his shoulder, and out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Leomon leaping off him at the monkey Digimon, brandishing his sword. He swiped it at the Ultimate, but Makuramon leaned back so far that his sword passed right over him. The monkey Digimon's leg shot up, his foot kicking Leomon in the chin and knocking him off his feet.

Before he even hit the ground, Makuramon's orb struck into him so hard it pushed him through the air and slammed him into a wall. WarGrowlmon started to rise, but Makuramon immediately sent his orb at him again, and the onslaught continued.

MetalGreymon was still frozen in place, and Argomon's vines were slowly creeping towards him. Shoutmon was doing his best to keep the vines away from the cyborg dinosaur Digimon, but they were gaining ground.

When the vines began to slither over MetalGreymon's legs and feet, BurningGreymon's _Fire Below_ attack flew across them. Argomon growled in irritation as the dragon Digimon moved to defend his friend. "Your accursed fire is a nuisance, but you can't hold out forever."

Several more vines flew at BurningGreymon, but he completely reduced them to ash with his _Wildfire Tsunami._ "Then I'll just have to hold them off for as long as I can." His eyes narrowed. "Or maybe I'll just take out the source. _Pyro Barrage!"_

He fired heat-wave energy bullets. Concern flashed across Argomon's face as the attack came at him, but SkullSatamon flew in front of him and used his staff to smack them away. "Shall I take care of him, Lord Argomon?"

"No need," the mutant Digimon replied. "I will deal with this firebug myself. _Imprisonment!"_

BurningGreymon was caught off guard as the vines he had burned suddenly regrew at blinding speed and wrapped around him tightly. They began to secrete their fluid to put him to sleep, and he ignited his body, incinerating the vines. He then flew at Argomon, stabbing forward with his _Crimson Fanger_. The mutant Digimon just grinned as BurningGreymon approached. _"Elimination Line!"_

Beneath the vines growing from his body, beams fired from the eyes on his limbs. BurningGreymon gasped in surprise as he went flying backwards into MetalGreymon. Not even the impact caused the cyborg dinosaur Digimon to snap out of his paralysis as BurningGreymon recovered from the initial attack and began pushing it back as he moved towards Argomon.

SkullSatamon grinned and turned to look at the two angel Digimon battling in the sky. He saw right away that even though Angemon had a mere staff while Darcmon had two swords, the male Digimon was undoubtedly the stronger of the two, and Darcmon was at a clear disadvantage. "Time to step in."

He flew up at the two as Angemon knocked Darcmon's swords out of the way and brought his staff down to strike her. It struck SkullSatamon's staff instead, stopping his attack, and the demon Digimon sneered at him.

 _"Hand of Fate!"_ Angemon cried, but SkullSatamon smacked his hand away and delivered a punch that had Angemon's head rattling in his helmet.

SkullSatamon chuckled as he hovered in front of Darcmon. "Careful, my dear. You'll never advance if you can't even defeat a weakling like this."

The female angel Digimon scowled. "Take care of how you speak to me."

SkullSatamon whirled around, his hand shooting out to wrap around her neck. He brought her close, his eyes shining with unspeakable evil behind his skull mask. "No, my dear. _You_ take care of how you speak to _me._ Don't forget that I am only here because I choose to be."

He smirked as he saw that he had rattled her, then let her go as he spun around again as Angemon came in for another attack. Raising his staff, he fired a beam of red light, and Angemon froze in mid-air. He dropped from the sky and crashed to the ground below, unmoving.

Darcmon and SkullSatamon hovered in the air, his shoulders shaking with silent mirth. "All too easy." He glanced at the angel Digimon behind him. "Shall I finish him off?"

Darcmon stared down at her frozen fellow angel Digimon. "No," she ran the length of one of her blades over the other, "he's mine."

She dropped down from the sky, landing beside Angemon. He was lying on his side, unresponsive to what was going on around him. Not even when she kicked him onto his back and pointed her sword at his face did he move.

A distance away, Angewomon was helping Gokuwmon to his feet. The hit of her arrow, plus SkullSatamon's attack, had damaged him greatly. Yet as she supported him, her gaze was drawn to Darcmon standing above Angemon with her sword pointed at him. "Angemon, no!"

"I got him!" Paildramon cried, flying towards the two angel Digimon. The land whizzed by as he flew, then suddenly came to a stop as something grabbed his foot. He glanced back to find SkullSatamon gripping his ankle.

"Come play with me for a bit," the demon Digimon snarled, and threw the dragon Digimon back. _"Bone Blaster!"_

The yellow light flew from his staff, pushing the dragon Digimon back into a wall of vines. The green tentacles immediately came to life and began wrapping around him, and he struggled to fight them off. That was when the insect Digimon finally moved in, firing attacks at the dragon Digimon, allowing the vines to get a better hold.

Darcmon, who had been watching the display, turned her attention back to her fellow angel Digimon. "You humans have bothered me long enough. You shall be the first to die."

As she pulled her sword back to stab, Angewomon left Gokuwmon where he was and made a move for Angemon, but SkullSatamon was suddenly in front of her. "Ah, ah, ah. You have your own problems, my dear." He pointed his staff at her threateningly. "Just try and get past me."

She glared at him from behind her mask and maneuvered around him. SkullSatamon's hand shot out, grabbing her hair as she passed, pulling her back. Tears wielded up in her eyes as his grip on her golden locks tightened, but she ignored the pain. "Angemon! Angemon! TK!"

"Now be gone!" Darcmon declared, and stabbed forward.

A flash of light blinded her, and she missed her target, her sword piercing the ground beside Angemon's head. The light grew in intensity, and Darcmon backed away as Angemon rose, glowing brightly. _"Angemon Digivolve to… MagnaAngemon!"_

 **(A/N: It seems Kari was right, TK did Digivolve when the time came. Now we've got MagnaAngemon in the house. The bad guys are really in big trouble now. Did his Digivolution timing seem a little too convenient? Well, plot convenient Digivolution happens in the anime too. Digivolution always did seem to happen when they needed it to, not when they wanted it to. By the way, you know the real reason why it took Angemon to Digivolve into MagnaAngemon in the show is because he was** _ **too**_ **powerful, and if he had Digivolved when the others reached Ultimate, then the villains they faced and the situations they found themselves in wouldn't have been as threatening or as challenging. That means I'm going to have to step up the bad guy factor for this story. Ooh, exciting. But we're not done with this arc yet. Stay tuned to see where things go from here.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **MagnaAngemon's attacks:**

 **Gate of Destiny** – _Create a golden gateway to subspace from which there is no return, and consigns the opponent to oblivion through it._

 **Excalibur's Grace** – _Stabs with the energy blade, Excalibur, on his wrist._

 **Magna Antidote** – _Shines healing light to cures the ailments of others._

 **Soul Vanisher** – _Swipes sword to send out blades of purifying energy._

 **Flying Sword of Justice** – _Rushes at his opponent and slashes with his sword._

 **Shield and Counter** – _Blocks and repels an attack with his beam shield._

 **Magna Jump** – _Launches himself into the air with a blast of holy power._

 **Excali-burst** – _Powers up the sword on his wrist, increasing its size and strength._

 **Great Golden Gate** – _Creates an alternate golden gateway for himself and others to teleport to another location._

 **Heaven's Gate** – _Creates an alternate golden gateway that unleashes a beam of holy energy from within._

 **Heaven's Heal** – _Heals himself and others._

 **Judgment Slash** – _Strikes with his sword to destroy evil._

 **Shield Strike** – _Rams an opponent with his beam shield._

 **Holy Feather** – effects unknown

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Wisemon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Sanzomon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/SkullSatamon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/MagnaAngemon**


	53. Chapter 53: Turning the Tables

**(A/N: I should say something. If it seems like our heroes may be Digivolving too easily or at too convenient times, their method of Digivolution and how it works will be explained in a later chapter. But in my defense, isn't that kind of how it works in the show too, they Digivolved when they needed to? But I will be explaining everything eventually.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 53: Turning the Tables**

Darcmon blinked away the spots in her eyes as she stared at the new Ultimate. "You Digivolved?" She jumped back into the sky. "How?"

MagnaAngemon stared at her with a stony look on his face. "Did you really think I would allow you to hurt me and my friends?" he demanded, speaking in a deep grand voice. He held up his right arm, pointing the glowing purple blade on his wrist at her. "I will never let your evil ways prevail."

"TK…" Angewomon whispered, unable to stop smiling. MagnaAngemon was a grand sight, like a warrior archangel ready to go off to battle the forces of evil, eight shiny wings with a silver hue curving around him almost like protective armor.

The newly Digivolved Ultimate turned to her, glaring at SkullSatamon beneath his helmet. "Release her, now!"

"Eh?" the demon Digimon muttered, giving him what seemed to be the stink eye. "Awfully big words for a newly Digivolved." He grinned. "That arrogance could end up biting you in the rear."

The angel Digimon continued to scowl at him. "Hang on, Angewomon, I'll take care of this guy." He flashed her a smile. "I owe you my thanks; it was your voice that got through to me."

Angewomon b egan to raise her hand. "MagnaAngemon, be-"

SkullSatamon yanked on her hair. "Quiet, girl."

He was glaring at MagnaAngemon. No not at him, but at something behind him. Makuramon was suddenly leaping in the air, throwing his _Primal Orb_. MagnaAngemon whirled around and used _Shield and Counter_. The orb struck his glowing shield and flew back at Makuramon, literally blowing up in his face. He cried out and went flying backwards from the blast.

Turning back to SkullSatamon, he pointed his sword at the demon Digimon. "Let her go."

Instead, SkullSatamon pulled her hair harder, making her groan in pain. "No, I don't think so."

" _Super-Electrified Lightning Cannon!"_ Gokuwmon cried behind them.

Keeping hold of Angewomon, SkullSatamon swung his staff behind him, knocking away the attack. He then used his _Skull Hammer_ , hitting the beast man Digimon in the side of the head. Turning back to MagnaAngemon, he grinned. "You may have Digivolved, but we still have the advantage."

The angel Digimon glared. "Don't be so sure."

"And don't count me out just yet! _Treasure Ball!"_

A transparent ball appeared around MagnaAngemon. He looked up to see the monkey Digimon floating in the air outside the bubble. Makuramon laughed and motioned towards himself. The sphere around MagnaAngemon began to solidify and shrink in the same manner it had when Makuramon had captured his friends before.

" _Magna Jump!"_ Similar to Angewomon's _Super Jump,_ MagnaAngemon used his holy energy to launch himself into the air, bursting out of Makuramon's _Treasure Ball_. A brief moment of surprise crossed the monkey Digimon's face before it was replaced by shock and pain as MagnaAngemon's sword stabbed into his stomach and burst out his back.

"Nothing about this is funny," the angel Digimon seethed, burying his sword deeper into Makuramon's gut. "Nothing at all."

Makuramon looked down at the sword buried in his torso, then back at MagnaAngemon. "PA-CAWWW!" he screeched, and dissolved into data.

Coming in for a landing, MagnaAngemon, once again, turned back to SkullSatamon. "Do you Digimon know the saying 'three strikes and you're out'? Well this is your third and final warning. Unhand her!"

SkullSatamon cackled, but complied with his wishes, pushing Angewomon away from him. "That was quite impressive," he admitted, deliberately walking over Angewomon as he approached, causing MagnaAngemon to scowl. "You killed him quickly and ruthlessly. Perhaps you shouldn't be an angel Digimon."

MagnaAngemon held up his sword, the blade mere inches from SkullSatamon's masked face as he stopped in front of him. "Only someone like you would take pride in the way someone takes the life of another. Unlike you, I take no pleasure in any of this, I _hate_ it, but I will do what I must to protect my friends. Besides," he glanced up at Darcmon in the air, "being an angel Digimon doesn't have anything to do with it. It's what's in our hearts that matters; if you even have one."

SkullSatamon scoffed. "How sickeningly sweet. That deserves a _Bone Blaster!"_

MagnaAngemon held up his shield, but was still pushed back by the attack. He retaliated with his _Soul Vanisher_ , swinging his sword to fling blades of purifying energy at the demon Digimon. SkullSatamon sprang up into the air, and MagnaAngemon used his _Magna Jump_ to close the gap between them and swing his sword. SkullSatamon blocked with his staff, the wooden stick, if that was indeed what it was made of, somehow managing to block the angel Digimon's blade.

Darcmon watched from a distance with a scowl on her face. As the angel and demon Digimon duked it out, she glanced down at the others. Leomon lay unmoving from where Makuramon's orb had smashed him into the wall while MetalGreymon still stood paralyzed. Angewomon had returned to Gokuwmon's side and was in the process of healing him while WarGrowlmon looked like he could use some healing himself from the beating Makuramon had given him, and BurningGreymon was still facing off against Argomon's vines. Then there was Paildramon, fighting a losing battle against them as well, with the insect Digimon making his struggles all the more difficult as they continuously attacked him.

"The situation is deteriorating. Time to bring in the others." She held up her staff, and it began shining brightly, signaling any other allies, calling them here to fight.

Paildramon was still in the process of trying to get free of Argomon's vines as he fought off the insect Digimon. His legs and one of his arms were bound, but he used his free hand to swipe at any others that came at him and rip apart the ones that already had hold of him when they tried to crawl up his body. The guns on his hips served to shoot down the insect Digimon flying around him, but it was a losing battle.

"At least none of these guys are Ultimates," he grumbled as he showered a Kuwagamon with bullets. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a flashing light, and he turned to see Darcmon with her staff shining brightly. "Well, that can't be good."

He threw an _Electric Bolt_ at a Yanmamon before calling out to MagnaAngemon. "Hey, I could use some help over here!"

The angel Digimon kicked SkullSatamon back before turning to him. "I'm coming!"

SkullSatamon's hand shot out, grabbing one of his wings and pulling him back. "Not so fast; we're not done here." He raised his staff. _"Bone Hamm-_ AHH!"

An arrow shot by Angewomon from down below struck his hip. MagnaAngemon spun around, breaking out of his grip, and used _Judgment Slash_ , slicing SkullSatamon across the chest. Whirling around, he sped towards Paildramon, using his _Flying Sword of Justice_ to cut through all the vines binding him, and even taking out a few of the insect Digimon.

"Nice move," the dragon Digimon commented, tearing off the severed vines. "Allow me to take it from here. _Sting Strike!"_

His lance extended and he flew at the insect Digimon, slashing, swiping, and stabbing at them. MagnaAngemon contributed as well, his _Soul Vanisher_ taking out several others.

"Yeah!" Paildramon cried. "We're crushing them! Teamwork rocks!"

"Well," Darcmon called to them, "I hope your teamwork does well against an army."

From out of the vine forest, several other Digimon, including more Wendigomon, came stomping out, responding to Darcmon's summoning. The angel Digimon chuckled wickedly and put more distance between the battle and herself.

At this point, Angewomon had finished healing Gokuwmon, and had thrown herself into battle with Argomon's minions. WarGrowlmon, looking a little worse for wear, stomped over to her, ready to keep fighting. BurningGreymon would have gone to help, but being a Fire-type, and thus Argomon's weakness, was determined to take out the mutant Digimon and end this whole thing quickly, if he could only get close enough.

Gokuwmon hopped onto his cloud and flew towards Argomon. The mutant Digimon barely glanced at him as a series of vines shot up and grabbed him. The beast man Digimon struggled against the vines, as several more rose up. Curling, electricity flowed along their length as Argomon used his _Hypnos Claw,_ slashingGokuwmon. With his arms bound, he was unable to defend himself. He cried out as the vines cut into him like deadly claws, and was then tossed into the distance, landing somewhere in the vine forest.

"Gokuwmon!" MagnaAngemon shouted. He made to go after the beast man Digimon, but was cut off as number of insect Digimon flew into his path."

Paildramon glanced at all the numerous insect Digimon blocking their path. "Geez, talk about having a bug problem. Anyone have any repellent?"

The blade on MagnaAngemon's arm began glowing brighter. "I'll take care of this quickly. _Heaven's Gate!"_

He drew a circle in the air, leaving behind a trail of light. The circle he drew filled with light, and a golden gate covered in intricate designs appeared. It opened up, and a beam of energy erupted from it, instantly obliterating numerous of the insect Digimon. The survivors stared at the lingering data left behind by their comrades before fleeing.

"Whoa," Paildramon awed. "Should have done that in the first place. You sent those freaks into a full retreat."

"But that won't be enough to stop me." SkullSatamon flew back over to them, sporting a cut across his chest from MagnaAngemon's attack. "You and I aren't finished here yet."

The angel Digimon glared at him. "I guess not." He motioned to Paildramon, then nodded at their friends. "Go help them. I'll finish things here."

The dragon Digimon nodded. "Sure thing." He hesitated a moment. "Be careful though. This guy is fast; even faster than me, and that's really saying something." With that, he flew down to the others. "Ok, guys, lets teach these baddies a lesson."

Darcmon pointed her sword at the group. "Kill them all!

The crowd of Digimon that had responded to her summoning charged towards Gokuwmon and the DigiDestined while, up in the sky, SkullSatamon and MagnaAngemon continued to hover in front of each other. The angel Digimon's expression was unreadable, and not because of his helmet, while SkullSatamon was looking quite pleased. "Do you really think you can win this?"

MagnaAngemon didn't miss a beat. "I believe in my friends," he replied with complete conviction. "But what about you? Do you think your army can win?" He looked down at the battle where his Ultimate level friends defeated one Champion level enemy after another. "You may outnumber us, but your forces are dropping fast."

SkullSatamon chuckled. "I don't care about that. I'm just here because Darcmon's ambitions are so entertaining. If she or the others fall, it wouldn't make any difference to me."

A disgusted look crossed MagnaAngemon's face. "You're despicable. I'll take care of her once I finish with you." He swung his sword, flinging blades of energy. SkullSatamon used his extreme speed to navigate through the storm of blades. He reached the angel Digimon and swung his staff. MagnaAngemon just barely managed to raise his shield in time to block.

" _Excalibur's Grace!"_ he cried, stabbing forward. SkullSatamon flew back and used _Nail Bone_. MagnaAngemon was able to deflect it with his _Shield and Counter_ , but not the _Bone Blaster_ that followed, nearly knocking him from the sky.

"You're mine now!" SkullSatamon declared, flying at him. _"Skull Hammer!"_

MagnaAngemon raised his shield and sword as the demon Digimon's staff came down. The impact was running, yet he managed to hold off the attack. But SkullSatamon's staff came down again and again, the demon Digimon laughing madly all the while. MagnaAngemon's arms started to give as the shockwave from the impact reverberated through his whole body.

In the distance, he saw Darcmon watching. She gave him a knowing smirk, as if she expected him to die, and to know that he was going to die. Then her gaze shifted to his friends before going back to him, and she shook her head, as if telling him that they would not survive either.

"No!" MagnaAngemon shouted. _"Excali-burst!"_

Giving up on defending, his blade grew larger and began shining brightly with energy. As SkullSatamon's staff came down to bash him once more, he swiped upward, his blade cutting the staff in two. The demon Digimon's eyes widened in surprise as the other end of his staff went flying through the air.

" _Judgment Slash!"_ MagnaAngemon cried. With his still energized sword, he slashed at SkullSatamon. Before the demon Digimon could react, the blade went straight through him, quick and clean. He didn't even realize he had been cut until the two halves of his body were falling from the sky. Yet even as he fell, a demented laughter escaped him as he dissolved into data, his body bursting apart upon hitting the ground.

MagnaAngemon held out his hand, summoning SkullSatamon's data to him. Not to absorb, neither he nor his friends needed to absorb another Digimon's data in order to get stronger, but there was someone else that could use it, and so he gathered it into his hand before flying over to them.

He landed by Leomon's still form. The lion Digimon cracked open an eye and stared up at him. He tried to rise, but found he still couldn't move. "Hey… congratulations on Digivolving… Sorry, I can't get up to help fight… but I think my back is broken."

MagnaAngemon stood over him. "We need you Leomon." He held out his hand. _"Heaven's Heal!"_

Light flowed out of his hand and over Leomon. As the seconds ticked by, he felt his body heal and his energy return. By the time the healing was finished, most of the pain was gone, and he felt most of his energy restored.

Grunting with the effort, he managed to stand, rubbing his sore back as he found his balance. "Thank you, my friend. I feel much better. I think I can keep fighting."

The angel Digimon held out the ball of data. "Take this as well. It will give you strength."

Leomon accepted his gift, absorbing the data, feeling his strength increase. When he was done, he took a deep breath and flexed his muscles. "Yes, now I know I can go on." He looked to the others. "Hang on, my friends! Here I come!"

MagnaAngemon smiled as he took off, but it soon became a frown as he looked up. Darcmon was watching the battle, but she was scowling now. It also looked like she was trying to sneak away, slowly putting distance between herself and the battle. He would not allow it. If she fled, she would just continue with her evil ways, and, undoubtedly, keep up the search for these mysterious keycards she wanted, whatever they were. He would not allow it!

Darcmon continued to back away as the tide of the battle turned even further. She had been confident before with SkullSatamon on her side, but with his death, she was having doubts. It looked like her plan was a failure. Months of work, gone, and all thanks to these human children. Well, they would pay for their interference. She would get more minions and come back. She would find those keycards, and then she would have her revenge.

"Enjoy your victory," she seethed. "You'll soon suffer for it."

She turned to leave, only to find MagnaAngemon right behind her, now nearly twice the size he was as Angemon. She flew back in surprise and brandished her sword. _"Dancing Sword!"_ She threw the blade at him, but he easily deflected it with his with his own. Darcmon glared at him, floating a reasonably safe distance away from him.

"Going somewhere?" he asked.

"Yes," she snarled, pulling out her other sword while summoning the one she had thrown back to her, "away from you! _La Pucelle!"_

She came at him with her swords. He blocked with his shield and knocked them away before striking with his own blade, shattering her favorite of the two swords.

"The Maiden!" she exclaimed in dismay, crying the name of her sword. She put some distance between them again. "Damn you!"

"No," MagnaAngemon declared, "that is your fate. Beings as wicked as you have no place in this world. I hereby decree that you are to be banished from it. _Gate of Destiny!"_

In a similar fashion to what he did before, he used his blade to trace a circle, creating another golden gate. It opened up, revealing a surface that seemed to be made of liquid light. Using his sword as a guide, he directed it behind Darcmon. "Be gone, you fiend. I hereby confined you to oblivion!"

A suction began pulling at Darcmon, sucking her towards the gate. She resisted, but the suction was too great, and she was pulled closer and closer. "I'll kill you first!" she snarled, and threw her remaining sword at him.

He used _Shield and Counter_ , and the sword flew right back at her, the hilt hitting her in the chest and knocking her back, the suction pulling her screaming into the gate. She vanished beneath the liquid-like surface, disappearing into the light. The gate closed behind her and dissolved into data particles, and just like that, she was gone.

One less villain to deal with. Now only Argomon himself and his last few cronies remained. MagnaAngemon fully intended to join in on the fight, but there was something he had to do first.

Flying over to the still frozen MetalGreymon, he landed on his head. _"Magna Antidote!"_

Rainbow light flowed out of his wings and over the cyborg dinosaur Digimon. MetalGreymon blinked, a few sparks traveling over his body, then suddenly regained full mobility and roared loudly.

MagnaAngemon smiled. "Welcome back, big guy."

MetalGreymon blinked again. "Angemon?"

"Not anymore. It's MagnaAngemon now."

Another blink. "MagnaAngemon. Everything is all a blur. It's like I couldn't process anything, or… or…"

"It doesn't matter now. We've got a battle to win. You ready?"

MetalGreymon's eyes narrowed. "Most definitely."

He charged forward into the brawl. The DigiDestined were still outnumbered, but the enemy's numbers were dropping fast. And as a RedVeggiemon riding on top of a Woodmon's head leapt off to bash Leomon, blades from MagnaAngemon's _Soul Vanisher_ attack caused it to burst into data before it could land the blow while MetalGreymon's _Mega Claw_ destroyed Woodmon.

The two newcomers rejoined their friends, and MetalGreymon roared loudly to announce their arrival.

"MetalGreymon!" Angewomon cried, flying over to him. "You're all better now."

"Yes, I'm fine, thanks to MagnaAngemon here."

The others, with the exception of the missing Gokuwmon, all came over to their friends. "Alright," said WarGrowlmon, "the group is at full power and ready to fight."

He roared loudly, and MetalGreymon roared with him. The enemy Digimon hesitated. They were all Champions, but were now up against several Ultimates, plus Leomon and Shoutmon. They looked around, noting that, of the leaders, only Argomon remained, and all the insect Digimon had already flown off. Several exchanged uncertain glances before one finally fled. It triggered a train reaction as more and more took off into the vine forest. Even those that had still been confident decided to cut their losses and run as their numbers continued to dwindle.

"Rotten cowards," Shoutmon grumbled.

"Hey, I didn't see you fighting," Paildramon pointed out.

" _I_ was busy keeping Argomon's vines off MetalGreymon."

"I appreciate that," the cyborg dinosaur Digimon told him. "When I was… frozen, it's like nothing registered to me. I was aware of what was happening, but I couldn't process or comprehend anything. I don't know how to explain it."

"If you could discuss this later, I'd really appreciate some help over here," BurningGreymon called to them.

They turned to the dragon Digimon. He was still fighting off Argomon's vines and attacks. His fire was able to burn away the vines when they came at him, but whenever he attempted to turn his flames on Argomon himself, the mutant Digimon would counter with his own attacks until more vines came in. Neither combatant were getting anywhere, even with BurningGreymon being Argomon's weakness.

"Come on, lets go help," Leomon cried, and he and the others hurried over.

"I got this one," Paildramon declared. _"Electric Bolt!"_

The attack struck Argomon in the side of his head. He cried out and shifted to the side, his vine tower now at an angle. The DigiDestined and Leomon crowded around BurningGreymon while Shoutmon hung back at a safer distance.

Argomon righted himself and glared at the group. He seemed both angry and confused. "What is this now? You're all challenging me? Where are my men?"

"Weren't paying attention, huh?" WarGrowlmon mocked. "They're all gone. You're all alone now."

"Impossible."

"Afraid so," MagnaAngemon replied. "Many of your men have been destroyed, including Makuramon and SkullSatamon. The rest have fled, and Darcmon has been sealed away in my _Gate of Destiny_."

Shoutmon gave the angel Digimon a surprised look. "You sealed her in your _Gate of Destiny_?"

BurningGreymon looked confused. "Is that bad?"

"Oh no, it just confines her to another dimension of subspace from which there is no return, sealing her away in oblivion for all eternity unless she takes own life. From what I remember, only one has ever managed to escape from it without dying." He humphed. "It's a fitting punishment for the likes of her."

WarGrowlmon sweat-dropped. "Wow, harsh."

MagnaAngemon raised his blade to Argomon. "Perhaps now that she is gone, you will listen to reason. Darcmon was just using you. She manipulated you into trying to find the keycards."

"Whatever they are…" Paildramon muttered.

"Don't let her use you anymore," the angel Digimon continued. "Just end this now before anyone else gets hurt."

If he hoped this would get Argomon to change his mind, he was wrong. Anger twisted the mutant Digimon's face, his tower of vines seeming to rise up higher. "Whether she was using me or not is irrelevant! Our goals were still the same! The keycards shall be mine! And you are interfering with that goal! _Imprisonment!"_

An entire _wave_ of vines suddenly rose up. It stretched high over the group and came crashing down towards them. BurningGreymon used his _Wildfire Tsunami_ to burn them away before the vines got to them, and Argomon roared his fury. "That damn fire!"

"Know what goes well with fire?" MetalGreymon asked. "Explosions. _Giga Blaster!"_

He fired his missiles. Another wall of vines rose up to shield Argomon. They were blown to pieces, but they stopped MetalGreymon's attack. What they didn't stop was Angewomon's _Celestial Arrow_ that she fired afterwards, and the glowing arrow pierced Argomon's shoulder.

"My turn now," WarGrowlmon declared. "This is for Gokuwmon! _Atomic Blaster!"_

His face twisting with pain and anger, Argomon straightened himself up on his tower and used his _Elimination Line._ The attacks met in the air in a stalemate, two opposing forces of energy fighting against each other, forming one massive ball that could erupt at any moment.

"He's strong," MagnaAngemon noted. "Perhaps we should attack together."

"Wait," said Leomon. He glanced in the distance at the sleeping Sanzomon in her pod. "We could still use some help. Could your _Magna Antidote_ awaken Sanzomon from her slumber?"

The angel Digimon turned to the sleeping Digimon monk Digimon. "Yes, it can. I'll go wake her right now."

"You will not!" Argomon declared as he continued to fire upon WarGrowlmon. "She and all the others will remain asleep forever!"

His face scrunched up in concentration. The vines began moving including the ones holding the pod that contained Sanzomon. It was pulled into the vine forest, disappearing into the greenery. Leomon watched her go with a feeling of despair. He would not use any more friends!

"Bring her back!" the lion Digimon demanded.

"Never!" the mutant Digimon shouted. "If you want to save her, you'll have to defeat me!"

"That can be arranged! _Lightning-Speed Attack!"_

From behind, Gokuwmon stabbed his staff into the back of Argomon's vine tower. He cried out as he was electrified, his attack ceasing. WarGrowlmon pushed the gathered energy back at him, and it exploded against the mutant Digimon.

"Gokuwmon, you're alright!" Paildramon exclaimed. "We thought you were dead or captured."

The beast man shook his head. "I will not go down that easily."

BurningGreymon smirked and took to the air. "Well, thanks for the opportunity. Time to use my fire on this overgrown weed. _Drago Fanger!"_

Flames surrounded his whole body, taking the form of a fiery dragon. He flew at Argomon as the mutant Digimon recovered from the blast. His eyes widened behind his mask as he saw the flaming dragon coming at him. He lashed out with his vines, but they were reduced to ashes upon touching the dragon Digimon. "NOOO!"

The flaming dragon slammed into Argomon, resulting in a fiery blast. Flames completely engulfed the vine tower, including the mutant Digimon. Argomon roared as he thrashed about, tearing away from the burning body of vines.

The fire helped, and he finally managed to separate from the flaming tower. He went tumbling down the structure, the whole 'stop, drop, and roll' technique falling into effect, and he hit the ground as a blackened and burned figure. The tower of vines that had served as his base continued to burn as Argomon lay still at the bottom.

"Smoked him," said BurningGreymon, going down to land by his friends. "That wasn't too bad; it was just landing a blow that was tough."

"Yes," Gokuwmon agreed, rubbing where the mutant Digimon had slashed him. "Argomon did not stand a chance against all of us."

"Still, it's a good thing you came back when you did," WarGrowlmon told him. "I don't think I could have held his attack back much longer."

"I'm sure you and your friends would have managed just fine."

There was a groan that drew their attention, and they turned to see Argomon crawling across the ground. His leaves and vines were singed, his whole body smoking as he dragged himself along.

"Looks like we're not finished yet," Paildramon noted. He stared at the mutant Digimon for a few moments, thinking. "Hey, you think we can convince him to get rid of these vines?

"If not, then he leaves us with no choice," said Leomon. "Perhaps we should just put him out of his misery now."

MagnaAngemon shook his head. "I don't want to have to kill him if we don't have to."

Shoutmon crossed his arms. "We could consider it a mercy killing."

"If he agrees to get rid of the vines, I can heal him," Angewomon pointed out.

"As can I," her fellow angel Digimon replied. "It's worth a try. In a way, he was a victim of Darcmon. He should get a second chance." He stared hard at the burned Digimon. "After all, everyone deserves a second chance."

 **(A/N: Looks like the battle is over. SkullSatamon and Makuramon have been destroyed, Darcmon has been sealed away, Argomon's servants have fled, and the big guy himself is down for the count. MagnaAngemon was right, Darcmon was the real villain here and was just using Argomon. You think our heroes will be able to convince him to turn over a new leaf? Ha, turn over a new leaf. Get it? Oh, puns. Stay tuned for more.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Yanmamon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/RedVeggiemon**


	54. Chapter 54: Weeding Out the Bad Seeds

**(A/N: Going on vacation to Florida. Whoo hoo! Super psyched. But you don't care about that. YOu ant to know what's going to happen with Argomon.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 54: Weeding Out the Bad Seeds**

Argomon reached out with a trembling hand to grab a hanging vine and attempted to climb to his feet. A shadow fell over him, and he looked over his shoulder to find the others gathered around him. He ground his teeth as he stared at them hatefully. "You interlopers are ruining everything."

"We're just putting a stop to something that never should have started," MetalGreymon told him.

"But we're giving you a choice," said Gokuwmon. "Get rid of these vines and give up this pointless search for the keycards, and we'll let you go."

Paildramon grinned. "Yeah, you can turn over a new _leaf_."

No one seemed to find his pun to be very funny, especially Argomon. He climbed to his feet, struggling to remain standing, and glared at them. "You think I will abide by your wishes after what you've done?"

"We're giving you the benefit of the doubt due to Darcmon's manipulation," Angewomon told him. "We're even willing to heal you once you get rid of the vines."

Argomon looked outraged. "Heal me? Heal me?! Here's a healing. _Hypnos Claw!"_ He swiped at them with his clawed electrified vines, and they jumped back. "I don't need you to heal me. I can heal myself. _Worm Phase!"_

Several dozen vines suddenly sprouted from his body, shooting outward. They coiled around the other vines, seeming to melt into them until he was reconnected with his vine system. The vines around him seemed to glow and began wilting as he drained their energy, but in the process, Argomon's burns began to heal.

"Did you really expect me to undo all that I worked so hard for, that I would let all the time and energy I put into growing my garden go to waste? I tried going about this peacefully, putting everyone in the area to sleep rather than killing them to get the keycards, but no longer. It's time to do what I should have done to begin with. No more fooling around. I'm puting an end to you right now. _Argomon_ _ **Mega**_ _Digivolve to… Argomon Mega!"_

MetalGreymon's eyes widened as Argomon Digivolution increased his size to around VenomMyotismon's height. As the Mega level Digimon emerged from the light, the only thing he could think of doing was getting his friends away from the giant. "Back! Back!"

His order was not needed as Argomon's enormous foot came crashing down where they had been standing. The mutant Digimon roared loudly as he stretched to his full height, towering over the group.

At the Mega level, Argomon was now rather muscular. Though he still resembled his Ultimate form, the biggest difference was the gapping hole in his chest. It was as if he were a suit of armor that had had the head removed, revealing the empty inside. Only this cavern-like opening didn't reveal his insides, but a pitch black void of darkness.

That wasn't to say he was without a head. At the top of the cavern in his chest, vines grew along the crevice, meeting at a single point where a mask that served as the mutant Digimon's head rested, very small in comparison to the rest of his body.

"He Digivolved," said BurningGreymon. "How could he Digivolve when he was at death's door a moment ago?"

Gokuwmon stared at the giant. "My guess is that he always could, but it was only in his Ultimate form that he could spread his vines the way he did. After reclaiming some of the energy he used to grow them in order to heal himself, he Digivolved back to his Mega level."

"But why is his name Argomon Mega?" Paildramon asked. "His name didn't really change."

"A few select Digimon's names don't change when they Digivolve," Shoutmon told him. "It's a unique case, but it does happen, so he's just given the suffix 'Mega' at the end of his name to differentiate between his Ultimate and Mega forms."

"But wouldn't MegaArgomon make more sense, like with the way Greymon becomes MetalGreymon, or Angemon became MagnaAngemon?"

"I didn't make the rules!"

"Who cares what his name is," WarGrowlmon growled. "We still need to stop him."

The little head at the top of Argomon's body turned to them, and the mutant Digimon roared.

"I think he can hear us," said MagnaAngemon.

From within the darkness of the gapping hole in Argomon's chest, several large green eyes popped open and stared down at them. Angewomon cringed at the disturbing sight. "I think he can see us."

" _Judecca Cannon!"_ Argomon cried. Giant bullets of energy shot out of the eyes in the hole of Argomon's chest. Those that could fly took to the air as Leomon grabbed Shoutmon and leapt out of the way. MetalGreymon dove for cover as the bullets of cursed energy blasted across the ground, leaving behind a series of craters.

"Hey, Shoutmon," Paildramon called to the dragon Digimon, "I thought you said not all Mega level Digimon are giant."

"They're not."

"Then what do you call that?"

The dragon Digimon shrugged. "Bad luck? What do you want from me?"

"Just forget it," MetalGreymon grumbled. "So what now? He's a Mega Digimon, so we better leave because we're outmatched?"

Shoutmon looked up at the roaring Argomon. He considered the Mega for several moments before shaking his head. "No, no running this time. He may be a Mega, but we've got seven Ultimates on our side. One is his weakness, and Angewomon and MagnaAngemon's strength borders on Mega. And we have Leomon too. The odds still aren't in our favor, but you humans have pulled off some amazing feats." He gave them a smile. "I think we can win."

Leomon leapt away as Argomon tried to stomp down on him again and set Shoutmon on the ground. "Well, if you have faith that we can win, then I do too. _Fist of the Beast King!"_

The lion-head energy blast flew at Argomon, exploding against him. It didn't seem to hurt him at all, and Argomon fired his _Judecca Cannon_ at him. Leomon fled as a series of explosions went off around him while Paildramon flew overhead, firing his _Desperado Blaster_. Argomon turned his attack on him, and Paildramon's speed was really put to the test as he swerved around the giant bullets.

" _Brute Force!"_ Argomon cried, throwing a punch. Through the spray of energy bullets, his giant fist slammed into Paildramon, and the dragon Digimon was sent flying. WarGrowlmon quickly flew in to take his place, and Argomon repeated his attack. The cyborg dinosaur Digimon caught his fist, which was almost as big as he was. His jets worked overtime to hold back the giant hand, and still he was losing.

MagnaAngemon and Angewomon moved in unison. Laanding in front of Argomon, they used their _Magna Jump_ and _Super Jump_ to launch themselves into the air and slam into the mutant Digimon. Argomon roared as he toppled backwards, randomly firing energy bullets. One exploded against WarGrowlmon, and he dropped from the sky.

BurningGreymon flew beneath WarGrowlmon and caught him, which was no easy feat with the cyborg dinosaur Digimon's much larger size. Straining with the effort, he set his dazed friend down. "Sit tight. My fire will take care of this." He flew up into the sky, flying right over the fallen Mega. "Time to roast this vegetable. _Burning Grey Blaster!"_

His body ignited, and he flew down towards Argomon. The mutant Digimon looked up and saw him coming. _"Distortion Line!"_

BurningGreymon had been on the lookout for his _Judecca Cannon_ , the eyes in Argomon's chest always opening in order to fire the massive energy bullets, but he hadn't been prepared for the unexpected twisted ray of light that emitted from the mutant Digimon's chest. The attack went straight through his fire and pushed him high into the sky.

Leomon jumped up onto Argomon and ran up the length of his body. Argomon's giant hand reached for him, and Leomon jumped over it, leaping over the dark void in the mutant Digimon's chest. _"Smashing Kick!"_

Doing a roundhouse kick in the air, his foot slammed into the side of Argomon's small head. But then he dropped down, falling into the void with nothing to stop his fall. The eyes inside Argomon's chest popped open, and Leomon knew good and well that he would not survive this.

And he wouldn't have if Gokuwmon hadn't flown by on his cloud, grabbing Leomon by the tail and pulling him along. The lion Digimon grunted as his tail was yanked, but as several energy bullets were shot into the air, he was glad to not be caught in their path.

Keeping a hold of Leomon, Gokuwmon pointed back at Argomon with his staff and fired his _Super-Electrified Lightning Cannon_. Argomon's inhuman wail echoed around them as he reached for the two Digimon on the cloud, but MetalGreymon fired his fired his _Mega Claw_ , and the cable wrapped around the mutant Digimon's arm, pulling it back.

MagnaAngemon flew in front of Argomon and used _Heaven's Gate_. The golden gate appeared and fired a blast of energy at the giant, but Argomon summoned forth his vines. They wrapped all around him in a protective cocoon, shielding him from the angel Digimon's attack. Not even when WarGrowlmon attempted to use his _Atomic Blaster_ were they able to get through the numerous layers of vines. "Alright then, let's just cut through this. _Radiation Blade!"_

He charged at the cocoon and began slashing away with his radiated blades, cutting his way through as Paildramon fired his _Desperado Blaster_ from up above. At this point, BurningGreymon had rejoined them, hovering on the opposite side of Argomon as MetalGreymon. "We need to use our fire. You ready, big guy?"

"Let's do it." The cyborg dinosaur Digimon replied. _"Powerful Flame!"_

" _Wildfire Tsunami!"_

The cocoon went up in flames. BurningGreymon flew over to MagnaAngemon as they waited for the mutant Digimon to emerge while WarGrowlmon continued to cut his way through. After several seconds, the cocoon burst open as a series of energy bullets blasted through. MagnaAngemon used his _Shield and Counter_ to defend himself, but BurningGreymon was left exposed, and the energy bullets exploded against him.

Argomon emerged from his cocoon, roaring. He turned his _Judecca Cannon_ on Gokuwmon and Leomon, but the beast man Digimon leapt off his cloud, using his staff to deflect the energy bullets as he fell. Leomon jumped off as well, but he jumped _towards_ Argomon, brandishing his sword. Argomon lashed out with his _Brute Force_ attack, his giant fist slamming into Leomon and sending him flying through the air and crashing into the wall so hard that he remained stuck to it.

"Leomon!" WarGrowlmon shouted. He looked back up at Argomon and fired his _Big Spark_ firing bullets of electricity. Argomon roared the attacks rained against him, then bent over as Angewomon used her _Heal of Justice_ , kicking him in the back.

"I'll go check on him," she called, and flew after the lion Digimon.

Hoping their friend was ok, MagnaAngemon returned his attention to Argomon and used _Soul Vanisher_. The mutant Digimon roared as the energy blades cut across his body and lashed out at his assailants. He kicked WarGrowlmon before grabbing at the cable that was still wrapped around his arm, using it to pull MetalGreymon along and slam him into MagnaAngemon.

Gokuwmon fired his _Super-Electrified Lightning Cannon._ Argomon turned to him and fired his _Judecca Cannon._ The beast man Digimon fled from the attack, but was still caught up in the shockwave, knocking him off his feet. He landed beside BurningGreymon, who was still trying to get to his feet, and both were blasted by the energy bullets.

"Leave them alone, you giant salad!" Paildramon shouted down at the Mega. "I'm up here, come and get me!"

Argomon just ignored him and continued randomly firing energy bullets all around. Not even Paildramon's _Desperado Blaster_ drew his attention. With a growl, he flew down towards the mutant Digimon, extending his lance. "Don't you ignore me! _Sting Strike!"_

He made a go for Argomon's little head. His lance severed one of the vines connecting his head to his body. _That_ drew the mutant Digimon's attention. He used _Brute Force_ , his giant fist coming up towards Paildramon, but with his incredible speed, he zipped out of the way, and Argomon's fists slammed into his own face.

"Stop hitting yourself," the dragon Digimon mocked. He spoke too soon though as one of the vines on Argomon's body flew at him. He didn't expect it, and the vine wrapped around his leg. This allowed Argomon to reach up and grab him. The mutant Digimon roared as he squeezed Paildramon tightly in his powerful grip.

Angewomon was busy using her _Heaven's Cure_ on Leomon, slowly healing him. The lion Digimon's eyes slowly blinked open, and he peeled himself off the wall. "Are you ok?" she asked.

Leomon grunted, still in pain. "I will live. Thank you." He looked back at the battle, at the wailing Argomon as he held Paildramon, at his friends lying on the ground trying to get up. His fists clenched as he contemplated his own strength. "I am useless in this battle."

"That's not true," Angewomon told him.

"It _is_ true. I'm no match for a Mega. I'd be lucky if my attacks even provide a distraction." He slammed his fist on the ground. "If only I were at the Ultimate level too, then at least I could contribute in some way."

Angewomon looked back at the others. A few of them had recovered and were now on the attack again, trying to get Argomon to release Paildramon. She looked back at Leomon. "Didn't MagnaAngemon give you SkullSatamon's data? Can't you Digivolve with that?"

He shook his head. "It's not enough. It takes a vast amount of data, accumulated over a long period of time, to reach the Ultimate level, centuries' worth even." He looked at his clenched fist. "I'm close though; I can feel it, but it's still not enough."

Angewomon took his fist in her hand. "Maybe I can help. Shoutmon said we humans possess an inner strength that can help a Digimon Digivolve; it's how we became so powerful so fast. Maybe I can give you the power boast you need."

Leomon sighed. "I don't think that will work."

"We have to try. Come on, Leomon, concentrate. Feel my power. Take it. Take what you need."

The lion Digimon stared at her, seeing her determination. Slowly, he unclenched the fist she was holding and took her hands. Closing his eyes, he tried to seek out the power she was trying to give to him. He needed that power if he wanted to save his friends. Whatever it took, even if it meant he would die, he would do what he had to for his friends.

He felt it like a sudden rush. The power that humans possessed, he felt it flow into him. His eyes snapped open in shock as he stared at her hands grasping his. They were glowing brightly, a light of pixelated energy swirling around them. Slowly, she released him, and Leomon stared at the light emitting from his once again clenched fist.

"This is the power you humans possess," he awed. He continued to stare for a few moments before raising his glowing fist into the air. "With this power, I shall protect those dear to me!"

The light erupted outward, consuming him, no longer a light of energy, but the light of Digivolution. _"Leomon Digivolve to… GrapLeomon!"_

The light faded, and the new Ultimate stood tall and proud. He still resembled a lion, only now he looked fiercer. Black and white armor covered his whole body, and turbines on his wrists and ankles rotated in a hypnotic fashion.

Angewomon looked him over, impressed. "You did it. You Digivolved."

"Thanks to you. You humans truly are astonishing creatures." He glared at Argomon. "Now lets put an end to this."

He charged at Argomon, Angewomon flying close behind. Shoutmon did a double take as they ran by his hiding place. "Wait, was that… Leomon?"

Argomon was stomping about, waving Paildramon around like some kind of trophy. The others were attacking from a distance, either avoiding his kicking legs or swiping arms. Argomon seemed more frustrated by the attacks hitting him, only seemingly really bothered by BurningGreymon's Fire type moves. GrapLeomon and Angewomon rushed past them all, going right up to the mutant Digimon.

"Give me a boost!" the beast man Digimon cried, and leapt into the air. Angewomon stretched out her wings for him to land on and used _Angel Wing_. The mighty flap acted as a springboard, launching GrapLeomon into the air, going so high he soared above Argomon's head. _"Cyclone Kick!"_

He spun around while kicking, nailing Argomon in his little head, causing him to stumble. Angewomon flew up to him and used _Holy Charge Kick,_ her leg glowing as energy charged up before unleashing it in a powerful flip kick to the mutant Digimon's chin. The blow actually caused Argomon to fall backwards, but GrapLeomon wasn't done yet. As he came down, he used his signature move, _The King of Fist_. The turbines on his arms spun at their fastest rotation as he slammed his fist into Argomon's gut, firing a blast of energy in the process.

Argomon's fall slowed to a crawl as GrapLeomon's attack distorted gravity around him. Angewomon took aim with her _Holy Arrow,_ firing a bolt of lighting against Argomon's wrist. The mutant Digimon roared as his fist unclenched, and Paildramon flew out of his hand.

"Thanks for that," he muttered. "I was beginning to feel like a baby's rattle." He glanced at GrapLeomon. "And when did this happen?"

"Later," the beast man Digimon replied. "Everyone, hit him while he's down." He followed this order with a blast of energy from his _The King of Fist_ attack. Gravity once again distorted around Argomon, preventing him from finding his balance as the attack hit. Argomon roared and tried to rise, the eyes in his chest cavern popping open.

BurningGreymon quickly flew in front of him and took aim. "Oh no you don't. _Pyro Barrage!"_

His own flaming energy bullets flew into the void, striking the numerous green eyes. More roaring, and Argomon used _Brute Force_ , punching at the dragon Digimon, but MetalGreymon launched his _Mega Claw,_ once again coiling it around Argomon's arm and pulling it back.

" _Angel Dash!"_ Angewomon cried, sliding across the ground, propelled by her power, kicking into one of Argomon's legs. The mutant Digimon fell to one knee, and Paildramon flew up behind him and threw an _Electric Bolt_ to the back of his head. Argomon held out his hand to stop his fall, and looked up to find WarGrowlmon in front of him. The cyborg dinosaur Digimon used _Megalo Spark_ and began randomly firing his _Judecca Cannon_.

MagnaAngemon used _Shield and Counter_ and flew directly into the path of the energy bullets. They bounced off him, slamming into Argomon, and MagnaAngemon used the opportunity to use his _Heaven's Gate_. The beam of energy that burst from it knocked Argomon onto his back, and he emitted another monstrous wail.

Gokuwmon flew up above on his cloud. Summoning his _Lightning-Speed Attack_ , he threw his staff down into the void of Argomon's chest. The staff extended as it disappeared into the darkness, and lightning struck. Argomon's roar echoed all around as his whole body lit up. His large hand rose into the air, reaching for Gokuwmon, then stopped. It twitched a few times before dropping to his side, and Argomon went still.

Nobody moved. They all stared at Argomon's still smoking form. It seemed he was down for the count. The group got together, realizing that the battle was over, and that they had all survived.

"Looks like we knocked him out," MetalGreymon observed as he retracted his arm.

"Yeah, I guess so," said WarGrowlmon. "That was certainly a chore."

"Weeding always is," Paildramon joked. Groans of "oh brother" followed his statement, and he rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, that was clever."

"Yeah, real clever," Shoutmon grumbled. He motioned to Argomon. "Now, what do we do about him? All his vines are still everywhere."

GrapLeomon sighed and crossed his arms. "We have a choice to make. He's made it clear that he won't get rid of his vines. We were lucky to take him down once. The chances of us doing it again…"

Angewomon looked at the ground. "It doesn't feel right. Killing in the heat of battle is one thing, we're fighting for survival, but killing a down enemy that can't even defend themselves…"

"I agree completely," said MagnaAngemon. "It amounts to cold-blooded murder."

They looked back at Argomon. "So what do we do?" asked WarGrowlmon.

MetalGreymon continued to stare at the mutant Digimon, seemingly in deep contemplation. "I'll do it. I'm the leader. It's my burden."

Gokuwmon held up his hand to stop him. "No, I'll do it. This was our mission. I'll finish it." Without looking at them, he made his way towards Argomon. Stopping a distance away, he brought his hands together as if in prayer. "Forgive me for taking your life when you cannot fight back. I pray that when you return, you will choose a more peaceful and righteous path."

He produced a new staff and fired his _Super-Electrified Lightning Cannon_. As the blast of energy flew towards him, Argomon's hand suddenly shot out, smacking away the attack, and knocking the beast man Digimon back to the others. The mutant Digimon leapt to his feet, the numerous green eyes popping open in his chest.

"He played us!" Paildramon cried. "Take cover!"

" _Judecca Cannon!"_

A barrage of energy bullets began flying at the group. Those capable of flight were blasted to the ground as the group was hammered by a never-ending shower of attacks. Even though MagnaAngemon was able to deflect a few with his _Shield and Counter_ , even he wasn't able to keep it up for long.

WarGrowlmon had his hands over his head as Argomon continued to fire his _Judecca Cannon_ upon them. "We've got to do something! We won't last long this way!"

MetalGreymon grunted as another energy bullet exploded against him. "We can't even move! He's got us pinned down! We need help!"

Not even BurningGreymon's flames could protect him, and he fell to his knees. "Can't take… much more…"

As Argomon continued to fire upon his victims, something flew in his line of vision. It looked like a giant rosary bead. Then there was another one, and then another. Soon, an endless shower of rosary beads was spraying against him. They hammered over his body, causing bruising, and he wailed loudly and swiped at the beads that seemed to be appearing out of thin air.

Argomon's attacks ceased. The others lay on the ground in a pile, trying to rise as they recovered from the numerous explosions. As the smoke cleared, a roar from Argomon drew their attention, and they looked to find the mutant Digimon thrashing about as he swiped at the shower of rosary beads.

"Hey, what happened?" Angewomon wondered out loud.

Gokuwmon produced a new staff and used it to help get to his feet. "I recognize that attack. That's _Endlessly Barraging Heart Sutra_. _"_ He looked around and gasped. "There!"

He pointed. Over by the edge of the vine forest was Sanzomon, no longer confined in her pod. She was walking towards them, her eyes closed, her hands raised to her head with her middle and index finger on one hand extended while her other clenched fingers rested on the open palm of her other hand. It was a typical monk hand position used during prayer.

"She escaped from her pod?" said Paildramon, flabbergasted. "How?"

"Don't underestimate Sanzomon's willpower," GrapLeomon told him.

MagnaAngemon looked back at Argomon. "Well, she certainly seems to be handling Argomon well."

Gokuwmon shook his head. "It's an illusion."

"What?"

"Sanzomon's attack, it's an illusion that makes her opponent think they're being crushed beneath a never-ending shower of rosary beads, but really there's nothing happening to him. He'll figure it out eventually."

MetalGreymon trembled as he struggled to stand. "Then we have to attack while he's distracted, before he realizes it's illusion."

Paildramon was using the extended lance on his arm to hold himself up. "His head. We should attack his head. Rather than hitting him all over his big muscly body, we should focus on that puny little head of his."

WarGrowlmon took a step forward, and nearly toppled over. "After the beating we took, I don't even know if I can fight him head on."

"Don't worry," said MetalGreymon. "I can help with that."

"Excellent," said MetalGreymon. "Then lets do what we did to defeat VenomMyotismon."

Argomon roared and began firing his _Judecca Cannon_ wildly. Sanzomon had leapt out of the way to avoid the energy bullets, shattering the illusion. Argomon blinked as the rosary beads vanished, along with any damage they seemed to have caused him, and he realized that he was unharmed. An angry roar escaped him as he began firing energy bullets in all different directions.

Sanzomon raced towards him, coming to a stop at his feet. "Argomon!"

The mutant Digimon ceased his attack. He looked down at her and roared loudly, accusingly. Sanzomon just scowled up at him, showing no fear. "Yes, I am responsible for the rosary beads." She stood her ground as he roared at her. "You wish to destroy me? To make me suffer like you made my friends suffer?" Her body began glowing brightly. "You have no idea what suffering is, what I have seen, what I have been through." She raised her hands. "With this, you will know. _Butterfly's Dream Sutra!"_

Her body flashed brightly. Argomon's eyes widened as her power was showered over him. Suddenly, all the ordeals Sanzomon had ever endured or suffered through since she first came to be were manifested upon him all at once. Argomon bellowed as ordeal after ordeal was inflicted upon him at once. He roared to the sky, his eyes wild and crazed as he suffered internally all that Sanzomon had experienced throughout a lifetime of fighting evil.

"Now's our chance," said MetalGreymon. He looked to his sister. "You ready Angewomon?"

She raised her hands, summoning her _Bliss of Saints_ attack. "Ready!"

" _Powerful Flame!"_

" _Electric Bolt!"_

" _Atomic Blaster!"_

" _Pyro Barrage!"_

" _Soul Vanisher!"_

" _Bellow Blaster!"_

" _The King of Fist!"_

" _Super-Electrified Light Cannon!"_

The attacks flew into the ring Angewomon created and reformed into a _Celestial Arrow_. Taking aim, she pointed it at MagnaAngemon. "Do it now."

He nodded. "Right. _Great Golden Gate!"_ Using his sword, he traced another circle in the air, and a new golden gate, different from his _Gate of Destiny_ and _Heaven's Gate,_ appeared. This one had two ends, the other one appearing in front of the wailing Argomon's face. Angewomon let her arrow fly as the others repeated their attacks, firing them into the gate.

In front of Argomon, the other end of the gate opened, and he was struck right between the eyes by Angewomon's arrow. The other attacks followed, the resounding blast knocking the mutant Digimon off his feet as they struck his little head, and he fell back. Roaring madly, he sat up, MagnaAngemon's gate still hovering in front of him.

Defying physics, MetalGreymon's far too large body burst out of the gate, somehow squeezing through the far too small space, and falling towards Argomon. _"Metal Slash Revision!"_

His metal claw slashed at Argomon's little head, and the mutant Digimon roared. Before he could recover, Paildramon emerged from the gate. _"Sting Strike!"_

Another blow to the head, and then WarGrowlmon was coming out, unleashing his _Radiation Blade_ on Argomon's head. This was followed by BurningGreymon's _Crimson Fanger_ , Angewomon's _Holy Slap_ , GrapLeomon's _The King of Fist_ , and Gokuwmon's _Super-Electrified Lightning Cannon_. Even Shoutmon leapt out to deliver a blow with his _Rock and Roller_.

MagnaAngemon was the last two emerge, bursting from his own gate like an avenging angel. _"Excali-burst!"_ His sword extended and began glowing with power. _"Excalibur's Grace!"_

He brought the blade down, not on Argomon's head, but on the vines attaching it to his body, Argomon roared as the blade sliced through the vines, and his little head dropped from his giant body.

"Now, lets torch this freak," BurningGreymon declared. _"Wildfire Tsunami!"_

A fiery aura appeared around his body and exploded outward in a fiery tornado. Argomon's body burst into flames as his little head continued to fall. MetalGreymon took aim and locked onto it before launching his _Giga Destroyer_. Argomon's head could do nothing but watch as the missiles came at him.

MetalGreymon's attack found their mark before Argomon's head ever hit the ground, and it was lost in the fiery blast. The headless body of Argomon fell back as it continued to burn. In the void of his chest, the green eyes darted around wildly. Their movements began to slow, and, one by one, the eyes began to shut. The last one opened and closed several times before finally shutting for good, and Argomon's body began breaking down into data.

 **(A/N: Phew, what an intense battle. A lot happened. Argomon and Leomon Digivolved, and Sanzomon managed to escape from her pod and join the fight. Good thing too, because Argomon almost beat them. But is it really over? You'll have to wait and see.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Argomon_(Mega)**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/GrapLeomon**


	55. Chapter 55: One Free Meal

**(A/N: These "in between arcs" chapters can be a little difficult to write sometimes, but I do my best. I try to keep them more fun and less serious, a calm before the storm you might say. I hope you're ready for the next one though, because it's gonna be a good one. For now, enjoy this new chapter.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 55: One Free Meal**

Everyone collapsed, exhausted, as the giant mutant Digimon's body continued to break down. The DigiDestined reverted back to their human forms as GrapLeomon and Gokuwmon sat down beside them, completely spent. Only Shoutmon still seemed to have energy, and was jumping up and down gleefully as he absorbed Argomon's data. "Oh, yeah! That's the stuff. Mega level data, baby, yeah!"

The others paid him no mind as they struggled to catch their breath. Takato was panting heavily as he laid on his back with his eyes closed, yet he had a smile on his face. "We… We did it… We really did it."

"I didn't think we could," Takuya admitted. "Towards the end there, when Argomon had us pinned down with his _Judecca Cannon_ , I thought we were finished."

Shoutmon finished absorbing Argomon's data. "By rights, we should have been, Statistically, even a weak Mega can't really be defeated by anything less than several dozen powerful Ultimates at least, but you humans," he shook his head, smiling proudly, "you guys work miracles."

"Indeed they do," Sanzomon replied, walking over to them.

Davis sat up. "And speaking of miracles, here comes our own personal _Deus ex Machine_."

The monk Digimon stopped in front of them. "Pardon?"

Gokuwmon got to his feet. "Do not mind him. I too have been warned that they say strange things sometimes." He held his hand out to her. "I am glad you are well."

She grasped his hand. "As am I, my friend. And congratulations to you on your Digivolution, GrapLeomon."

The beast man Digimon puffed out his chest. "Thank you, but it would not have been possible without my friends here."

"Nor would Argomon's defeat," Sanzomon added. She glanced at the DigiDestined with interest. "We owe a debt of gratitude to you. Humans, huh? A rather unusual occurrence."

Davis sighed. "Lady, we've been barking up that tree for months now."

"Davis, don't be rude," Kari scolded. She bowed to the monk Digimon in greeting. "It's very nice to meet you. We were hoping to meet Leomon's friends. Oops. I mean GrapLeomon."

Sanzomon returned the bow. "I am the one who is honored. It was you children that saved me. I could hear your struggles from within my pod and was finally able to break free because of it."

"Speaking of which," said TK, "what about all the other Digimon that Argomon put to sleep?"

"No need to worry about them," Gokuwmon replied. "Look."

He pointed at the vine forest. All the vines had turned brown and were in the process of wilting. Some of them were already breaking down into data. As they continued to die, the breakdown sped up as the entire forest of vines dissolved into data until the air was filled with floating data particles.

"Now that Argomon has been defeated, his vines are dying," Sanzomon explained. "All the Digimon he captured will be freed."

"I guess that includes Snatchmon," Davis grumbled darkly, thinking of the alien Digimon that had tried to eat them and turned Tai into an Oinkmon.

"Yeah," Takato muttered, "but this also means that Trailmon is free too."

Their thoughts turned to the train Digimon they had been riding when they got sucked up by the data stream and dropped into Argomon's vine forest. They hoped he'd be able to find a new set of tracks soon; Cutemon had explained to them how it was difficult for Trailmon to get around without a track. Hopefully, Ganemon wouldn't be too angry that Trailmon was late… by several weeks.

Kari's eyes were shining as they watched all the data from Argomon's vines rise up into the air and disappear. "It's so beautiful. It almost looks like it's snowing in reverse."

"Yes," GrapLeomon agreed. "Balance has been restored to this area. It is just sad that Wisemon could not be here to witness this."

Sanzomon looked at him in surprise. "You're saying Wisemon has…? I see. I suspected as much." She closed her eyes and sighed. "I wish him all the best. I hope we shall be reunited again someday soon."

Takato's shoulders slumped and he hung his head. "I'm sorry we weren't there to save him. If only we had met sooner."

Gokuwmon shook his head. "You humans have nothing to apologize for. You've undergone a great ordeal that did not concern you because the cause was just. You are to be commended."

"Indeed," Sanzomon agreed. "Although I am surprised there are so many of you. There has never been such a large group of humans in the Digital World before."

Takuya scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, we were all kind of sucked in together."

It didn't seem that anyone else had noticed, but Tai found Sanzomon's choice of words interesting. "Wait, 'such a large group'? What's that mean?" His eyes widened. "Have there been humans here before?"

The monk Digimon looked at him, her eyes holding great wisdom. "Yes. In all of history, aside from the six of you, there have been two others that have appeared."

Kari's face lit up. "Other humans! This is great! Maybe they can help us."

"Who are they?" TK inquired, equally as excited. "When did they get here?"

Sanzomon closed her eyes. "I do not know their names, but they appeared thousands of years ago."

The excitement the teens had been feeling instantly died. Thousands of years ago she had said? There was certainly no hope of finding them now. Still, the thought that there had been other humans made them feel not so alone, even if it had only been two.

"Did they ever make it back?" Tai asked. "Did they ever find a way to return to the Real World?"

The monk Digimon shook her head. "Not to my knowledge. The first eventually gave up after several years and simply made their home in the Digital World. I do not know what happened to the second. They just disappeared. Perhaps they found a way back to their world, or perhaps they perished in this one. I'm afraid I don't know."

Her answer was disappointing, yet it did not make them completely lose hope. While the first human had given up, the fate of the second was uncertain. Maybe they had gotten back to the Real World somehow. If it occurred thousands of years ago, there wouldn't likely be any record of it anywhere in the Real World, at least not one the teens heard of.

Davis kicked a rock. "Drat. And I thought we had found a clue to help us."

Takato sighed. "Well, at least we're no worse off than we were before. We'll just go with out original plan of going to meet Cherubimon."

Gokuwmon glanced at him. "You seek Cherubimon?"

"Oh, yeah, I guess we never told you. We're trying to get to Cherubimon's castle to see if he knows a way for us to get back home."

Sanzomon looked thoughtful. "I have met Cherubimon before. He is wise and powerful. He just might be able to find a way for you to get back to your world; if it's possible."

GrapLeomon motioned at the teens. "It must be; they got here somehow."

Gokuwmon nodded. "This is true. Theoretically, you should be able to find a way back."

Takuya looked up at the floating image of Earth. "You know, thinking about us coming here, it makes me wonder if Digimon are able to come to the Real World."

Tai considered this. "That's a possibility. After all, there are stories of ghost, aliens, monsters, and such in the Real World. Could these have been Digimon sightings?"

Shoutmon nudged his leg. "I doubt they're related. Digimon are made of data. We can't survive in the Realm World."

"That is only a theory," Sanzomon pointed out, "since it has never happened before. With humans being and surviving in the Digital World, perhaps Digimon can go to and survive in the Real World as well. There are many worlds out there, many universes, and some Digimon are capable of traveling to different dimensions. It is possible that in doing so, a few have managed to catch a glimpse of the Real World, and been seen in return."

That made TK smile. "Well, that gives me hope that we'll be able to find a way back. I say we head for Cherubimon's castle after getting a good night's sleep."

Gokuwmon gave him a sorrowful look. "I wish you luck, my friends, but I am sorry to say we can't go with you. There is much work for us to do, many Digimon that need our help."

"Yes," Sanzomon agreed sadly. "The Digimon here will need some help getting back on their feet after having dealt with Argomon's invasion. So I am sorry, but we will not be able to help you."

The teens seemed a little put off. Not because they had expected aid, but because they suddenly realized that this meant saying goodbye, particularly to GrapLeomon, who had been their traveling companion for several days now. The beast man Digimon seemed to realize this as well, and looked just as forlorn as they felt.

They all stared at each other, GrapLeomon at the teens, and the teens at GrapLeomon, things unspoken left hanging in the air. In the back of their minds, they had always known that they were going to have to say goodbye, but now that the moment had arrived…

"Well then…" Takato muttered sadly, "I guess… I guess this is goodbye…"

"I…" said GrapLeomon, trying to think of something to say. "I supposed so…" He looked at each of them, and a determine look crossed his face. "Or perhaps not." He looked at Sanzomon and Gokuwmon. "Our mission is to help those in need. My friends here need me now. Perhaps I should at least aid them in their quest to find a way back to their home."

The two were silent. They exchanged a look, almost as if they were having a telepathic conversation, then looked back at GrapLeomon. "You must do what you feel is right," Sanzomon told him.

"We will support you in whatever you decide."

GrapLeomon still seemed torn between staying with his old friends and helping out his new ones. Eventually though, Tai went up to him. "Hey, don't worry about us. We don't want to break up your group. There's no telling how long this could take. We can't ask you to stick around indefinitely. Sanzomon and Gokuwmon need your help too."

"Especially since you already lost Wisemon," Davis pointed out, earning him a silencing jab in the ribs from Takato.

"Seriously though," the older boy continued, "we'll be fine. Shoutmon's here to guide us, and we can all reach the Ultimate level now too. We can take care of ourselves."

The dragon Digimon chuckled. "And get this, MagnaAngemon's _Magna Antidote_ could have changed you back from an Oinkmon."

"He could have what?!"

Gokuwmon cleared his throat loudly. "You humans are very brave, and very kind. It was an honor to meet and fight beside you."

TK stepped forward and held out his hand. "The same goes for you."

The beast man Digimon took his hand in his much larger one and shook it. "The honor was all mine."

Davis turned his back on them and casually began walking away. "Yeah, yeah. Honor, fighting. Thanks for the h-help. Hope to s-see you again, bye. Come on, we should g-get a move on."

Tai raised an eyebrow at him, not just at his behavior, but what he saw as he walked past. "Wait, Davis, are you… crying?"

His look-alike tensed. "W-What? No way. A real man never shows his t-tears." He rubbed his eyes. "Wow, all this data floating around sure is bright. It's making my eyes water."

Takato looked up. The data Argomon's vines had broken into wasn't that bright, and it was practically gone now. "But there is no more data."

"Yes, there is!" Davis insisted loudly. "Some just floated past my face. It was so bright that my eyes involuntarily teared up. Oh, look, it happened again." He rubbed his eyes some more.

A knowing smile appeared on GrapLeomon's face. "Of course, how silly of us to think otherwise." He walked over to Davis and placed a hand on his shoulder. "All the same, I shall miss you all, and I pray you have a safe journey."

"Perhaps our paths shall cross again sometime," Sanzomon offered. "I just regret that I was not able to get to know you better." She closed her eyes. "Though we may have only just met, I sense the goodness in each of you. Hold on to that purity, and you can do no wrong."

Shoutmon thumped his chest, looking entirely too smug. "Don't worry, I'll be keeping an eye on them."

GrapLeomon raised an eyebrow. "Was that supposed to reassure us?"

The others laughed at that. Shoutmon crossed his arms, fuming. "Talking to the Digimon King like that. What nerve." He pointed into the distance. "I'm more than capable of getting them to Cherubimon safely."

Sanzomon walked over to him, took his hand, and shifted it about 60 degrees to the right. "That way."

The dragon Digimon sweat-dropped. "R-Right. I just got a little turned around, what with being stuck in Argomon's vine forest for so long."

A loud grumble suddenly made the situation a lot more awkward, but at least it shifted the attention from Shoutmon to Takato, who quickly covered his stomach with his hands. An embarrassed smile appeared on his face as he chuckled nervously. "I… uh… I guess I burned a lot of calories fighting."

Gokuwmon chuckled. "I think we all did. Come, let us have one last meal together before we depart."

"Great," Davis grumbled, trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice, "more roasted roots. Maybe we'll find some berries for dessert again."

It seemed though, that that was not necessary. With Argomon's vines gone and the residential Digimon free, civilization had returned, and businesses were up and running again. This included a restaurant run by a Digimon known as Digitamamon, an Ultimate level Digimon that resembled an egg. Several Rookie and Champion Digimon known as Burgermon and EbiBurgermon worked there as waiters and cooks, their main menu item being… burgers.

In his gratitude of having been saved from Argomon, Digitamamon declared that the group could eat all that they wanted, free of charge, and had his workers prepare an entire smorgasbord of various kinds of burgers.

"I should get free food all the time anyway," Shoutmon was saying as he stuffed his face. "I'm the Digimon King after all."

"Again with the Digimon King," Takuya grumbled, growing tired of the dragon Digimon's delusions. "You've told us several time now. We get it."

"Well, I deserve the proper respect and treatment. As do you guys for being heroes."

With his mouth full, Davis attempted to speak. "'is sesh luch etty uch ea'uchen tu mech."

GrapLeomon sweat-dropped. "Try that again without your mouth full please."

It took nearly a minute for Davis to swallow what he had shoved into his mouth. "I said, this seems like pretty good treatment to me."

Shoutmon was staring at him with hooded eyes. "Maybe you were the one that should have been turned into an Oinkmon. You're certainly acting like a pig."

"Oh, and just how many burgers have you had so far?"

"Two, three, twelve. I lost count."

Takato chuckled and closed his eyes, taking a big whiff while facing the kitchen. "I just love the smell of bread baking. It reminds me of home."

"Not to worry," Gokuwmon assured him. "You will be back in your world again before you know it."

Paying the beast man Digimon little mind, Tai stared at the burger he had taken a bite out of. "What I want to know is where they're getting the meat for these burgers."

TK chuckled. "I find it best not to think about it too much. Besides, have you tried this soup? It's great."

Beside him, Kari nodded. "Yeah, it may be the best soup I've ever had."

"Agreed," said Sanzomon, "it is quite delectable."

At that moment, a Burgermon came up to them. "Is everything to your satisfaction?"

Takato beamed. "Yeah, it's great. Thanks a lot. Even better than ramen, if that's possible."

The Burgermon appeared to be bashful. "I do not know what ramen is, but I am glad you are enjoying your meal. It is our pleasure to serve the ones who defeated Argomon."

"Well, these burgers are excellent," said Takuya. "It reminds me of this time my friends and I got into a burger making contest." He snickered. "Koji and I really got competitive over that one, but, surprisingly, it was little Tommy whose burgers came out the best."

"Sounds like a fun time," said Kari. She glanced at Burgermon. "By the way, what's in this soup that makes it so good?"

"Noodles," Burgermon replied simply.

A moment of silence passed before TK spoke up. "Yeah, but what else?"

"Even more noodles."

More silence, and Takato sweat-dropped. "Riiiight. Well, give our compliments to the chef."

"Oh, will do!"

Takato waved nervously as Burgermon hurried off. "Ok, that was kind of weird."

"Perhaps it's a secret recipe," GrapLeomon suggested.

"Yeah, maybe. By the way, have any of you guys seen _Fighting Foodons_? These Burgermon totally remind me of that show. Anyone else? Anyone?"

No one answered, yet they all gave him strange looks. Davis sighed and put an arm around him. "Takato, pal, let it go. There's nothing wrong with being an otaku, but you can't expect everyone to understand what you're talking about all the time."

"I'm not an otaku."

Completely lost, the three Ultimates looked at Shoutmon for answers, but the dragon Digimon just shook his head. "Don't look at me, I understood just as much of that as you did."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"Still hungry," Shoutmon grumbled as his stomach bulged out, "but too tired to keep eating."

He toppled backwards out of his seat. Tai shook his head, but smiled as he patted his own stomach. "Yeah, it was great having a real meal."

"Tell me about it," Davis agreed. All around him were dirty dishes; he'd eaten more than anyone. "If I had to eat another roasted root, I think I would have gone crazy."

With the conclusion of their meal, Digitamamon himself, along with the rest of the staff, came out to see them off. "I hope you will come again. You are always welcome here."

"Always welcome!" the Burgermon and EbiBurgermon echoed.

TK bowed his head to them in gratitude. "Thank you for the food. It was nice to meet you all."

"It was nice to meet you too," said Digitamamon. "We've never had humans in our establishment. I hope you will come back tomorrow for breakfast. There's an inn right over there run by Atamadekachimon and Minidekachimon. They even employ Monitamon and HiVisionMonitamon, so you can watch some TV. I'm sure they'll let you stay free of charge for the night since you saved everyone from Argomon."

Davis blinked. "They have TV here?

Tai placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't get your hopes up. I don't think it's anything like what we have in the Real World."

The others chuckled as Davis sighed, his shoulders slumping. The humor didn't last as a disturbance a few blocks away drew their attention. Even Digitamamon and his staff hurried off to go see. Surprised cries rang out, and, suddenly, the streets were full of Digimon rushing to see what was happening."

"Whoa, what's going on?" Takato cried.

"I don't know," Gokuwmon growled, "but we just reclaimed this place from Argomon; I'm not about to let someone else ruin things."

They hurried down the street, over the crowd of Digimon. There, a star-shaped Digimon was doing battle with a dog Digimon that was hopping from rooftop to rooftop, a wicked sneer on its face.

TK checked his Digivice. "Doggymon, a Champion level Digimon known for causing trouble, and Starmon X. Hey, another X Digimon. Last one we saw was Vademon X."

Kari tapped on the shoulder of a Digimon that looked like it was made out of cardboard boxes, "Hey, what's going on?"

The box Digimon, who was known as Bacomon according to TK's Digivice, gestured towards the dog Digimon. "That Doggymon was one of Argomon's cronies. Now he's going around wrecking things."

Takuya's eyes narrowed. "One of Argomon's men?"

"Yeah, but don't worry. Starmon X will stop him. He's our sheriff."

It seemed, though, that Starmon X was having trouble apprehending the troublemaker. "Get down here, you fiend. _Meteor Champion!"_

The dog Digimon jumped to another roof to avoid the attack. "You'll all pay for overthrowing Lord Argomon. _Distem Howling!"_

He emitted a horrible howl that caused all the gathered Digimon to cry out and cover their ears. Countless windows shattered as the noise echoed all around, similar to Growlmon's _Howling_ attack.

"Enough of this," Gokuwmon growled. _"Somersault Cloud!"_

Wisps of vapor materialized in front of him, getting together to form a cloud. He hopped up onto it and flew up towards Doggymon. He produced his staff and gave the dog Digimon a good whack, sending him toppling down the roof to the ground.

"Allow me to open this creatures eyes to the suffering the forces of evil have caused," Sanzomon declared. _"Butterfly Dream Sutra!"_

Her light shined outward, flowing over Doggymon as he got to his feet. His pupils shrank as the light shinned in his eyes, and he grasped his head and began shouting. GrapLeomon leapt forward. Using his _The King of Fist_ attack, he bopped the dog Digimon on the top of the head. Doggymon bounced from the impact, moving in slow motion as gravity distorted around him. Then he collapsed with dizzy swirls in his eyes.

Starmon X stepped forward. He gazed at the unconscious dog Digimon for a moment before determining that he was out cold. Placing his foot on Doggymon's head, he puffed out his chest and declared, "Justice always prevails!"

The teens sweat-dropped. Shoutmon was staring as well, but then he laughed. "Well, I guess this town is in good hands. They'll round up whatever's left of Argomon's forces. Besides, without their boss, I doubt they'll be causing anymore trouble."

Tai smiled uncertainly. "Y-Yeah, probably not." Yet in the back of his mind, he wondered if that was true. Those keycards that Argomon had been searching for were still out there. Would they really give up the search for them? What did they even do anyway?

It looked like that was one question he would not be receiving an answer to.

 **(A/N: The Argomon Arc is over, and we're moving onto the next. This one is going to be very different from the past arcs and have a different theme. I'm very excited for it, and I hope you will be too. And don't worry, the keycards aren't done yet, they'll come back later. Stay tuned for the next arc, you definitely don't want to miss it.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear/mentioned. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Digitamamon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Burgermon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/EbiBurgermon**

 **wikimon** _DOT_ **net/Atamadekachimon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Minidekachimon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Monitamon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Hi-VisionMonitamon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Doggymon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Starmon#Starmon_X**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Bacomon**


	56. Chapter 56: Clan Feud

**(A/N: Super psyched for this next arc. Gotta admit, I'm borrowing a theme from one of my favorite animes. If you've seen it, I'm sure you'll figure it out. If not, you'll find out at the end.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 56: Clan Feud**

Davis' stomach rumbled loudly. His wasn't the only one, but he was the only one that kept complaining about it. "Is it time to eat yet?"

Tai sighed, trying to maintain his composure, but his look-alike's nagging was really getting to him. "Not yet. We have to stick to the schedule if we want our rations to last. We're almost out as it is."

A groan escaped the younger boy. "We should have stocked up on more before we left that town."

"We got as much as we could carry," TK reminded him. "And we were lucky we got that much. Be grateful."

Davis glared at him. "I am grateful, TP, but I'm also _hungry_."

Takuya's stomach growled as well. "Yeah, me too." He looked around the forest they were walking through. "If we can't touch our rations yet, then lets at least look around for more."

Davis perked up at that. "Hey, I'm fine with even eating nuts and roots again if it means filling my stomach."

Tai stopped walking. Being the leader, the party halted with him as he looked around. "I guess it'll be fine if we stocked up on whatever we find around here."

Takato didn't look so sure. "I don't know. If we leave the path, we might run into some hostile Digimon."

"I'm willing to take that chance," Davis declared, and marched off into the forest.

"Davis, wait!" Kari called. "We should stick together so we don't get lost! Davis!"

Tai sighed. "He's so reckless."

Almost on cue, a scream was heard. Worried looks crossed the teens' faces as they recognized them coming from their friend. "And accident prone," TK added. "Come on!"

They hurried after him, hoping he wasn't too far ahead. They weren't sure what they would find, but it certainly wasn't him hanging in the air by his ankle in a very cliché rope trap.

"Get me down!" he wailed.

Kari covered her mouth to keep from laughing, and she wasn't the only one. "What happened?"

"What's it look like? This stupid rope got me. Let me down."

"Yeah, yeah," Shoutmon grumbled. "Hold still."

He slashed at the rope with his claw. Davis cried out as he landed on his head. TK winced for him. "You ok?"

Shoutmon just scoffed. "He's fine. His head is harder than anything he could have possible hit it on."

Davis glared at him. "Thanks a lot."

Placing a hand on his hip, Tai sighed. "How could you fall for such a stupid trap?"

Sitting up, Davis began angrily ripping plants out of the ground and began tossing them over his shoulder in aggravation. "It's not like I walked into it on purpose! Who sets traps like that anymore? Why is it even there?"

Takato sweat-dropped. "Uh, Davis, you know that those plants you're grabbing are poison ivy."

"AHHH!" He jumped to his feet and began running. "I need soap! I need water! I need mud!"

"Davis, it's fine, you're wearing gloves!" Kari called after him.

He didn't appear to hear her, nor did he stop running, not until he stepped on a pitfall and fell into a hole. The others stared with hooded eyes, and Shoutmon shook his head. "That boy is a walking disaster," he muttered, and the others nodded in agreement.

From within the hole, Davis' voice rang out. "Guys, I really need some help. Seriously."

Sighing in unison, they made their way over to the hole, thinking Davis was being overly dramatic. But not this time it seemed. The bottom of this hole was full of sharpened tree branches sticking straight up to skewer anyone who might fall in. Davis had somehow managed to grab two of the spears and pressed his feet against two others, stopping his fall.

Shoutmon's eyes widened in surprise. "Yikes! Hold on, pal. I got you."

He jumped into the hole, careful to avoid the spears. He hopped back out with Davis a moment later. The boy looked pale and sweaty, but was unharmed. "I almost ended up as shish kebab. What are all these traps doing here anyway?"

Takuya crouched down, looking into the hole. "Aren't they just hunting traps?"

"For what game?" TK asked. "Digimon break down into data when they die. There'd be no body left for the hunter to eat. This trap isn't meant for hunting; it's meant for killing."

Kari gasped in shock, but Tai ignored her as he looked back at the rope trap. "But the trap that got Davis isn't meant to kill, just snag. That must mean that the trapper must be somewhere nearby in order to finish the job once someone steps into it."

The teens immediately bunched together and began looking around. Shoutmon produced his mic, staring at the trees intently for any sign of movement. He saw nothing.

Then, suddenly, there was something. A large tree trunk came flying at them, swinging on a rope like a bettering ram. The teens dove aside, narrowly missing being struck.

"There!" Takuya cried, pointing at a tree.

Shoutmon saw it too. Something moved from one treetop to the next, too fast to see, sticking to the shadows. He threw a _Fiery Fastball_ at the treetop, and whoever or whatever was in them dropped down.

"Got you now!" he cried, leaping at the unknown Digimon. _"Rock and Roller!"_

His mic came down on something hard. At first glance, it looked like he had hit his target, but his face fell when he realized the thing he hit was actually nothing more than a log that had had a red robe wrapped around it.

"Hey," said Takato, "that's the type of ninja technique you see in anime all the time."

Shoutmon's eyes narrowed in thought. "Ninja…"

Something seemed to click in his head, and he whirled around, looking up. A shadowy figure was moving through the air, leaping high over his head. _"Ninja Knife Throwing!"_

Shoutmon leapt back as several shuriken struck the ground where he was standing. His attacker landed and rushed at him, swinging their sword. Shoutmon blocked with his mic, and his attacker leapt back.

Now that their assailant was in the light, they got a good look at him; at least it appeared to be a him. They were short and round, resembling Pac-Man, and wearing a red ninja mask. The eyes hidden behind the mask, however, burned with the purest hatred.

Shoutmon wielded his mic in preparation of being attacked again. "Ninjamon. I thought so."

Tai looked at his Digivice. "Ninjamon, huh? Ok, he's a Champion level ninja Digimon. Well, obviously. What a useless bit of information."

Ninjamon spat at them. "Miserable vermin! I should have known the Kogamon scum would sink low enough to bring outsiders into our feud. They've got no honor!"

Shoutmon blinked. "Wait. Kogamon? Feud? Oh no. Is this place…?" He looked around before quickly tossing down his mic. "We surrender! We surrender! We're not working with the Kogamon! We're just passing through."

"Bull crap!" Ninjamon snapped. "All passers by know not to leave the path unless they're offering their support to one side or the other. And then you started disarming my traps."

Takuya glanced at the others. "Does anyone else find it strange that they use Real World terms like 'bull crap' and such? I'm pretty sure there are no bulls in the Digital World."

"No," TK agreed, "but there are probably bull Digimon. And that's not the key issue right now."

Shoutmon ignored them as he continued to try and smooth things over with the ninja Digimon. "Really, we didn't mean to ruin your traps. My friend is just very unlucky and very accident prone."

"Hey!"

"Besides, just look at them, they're humans. They're still relatively new to this world. They don't even know about your feud."

Ninjamon glanced at the teens, who waved at him nervously, then back at Shoutmon. His hostility seemed to lessen, but he was still on guard, ready to attack at a moment's notice. "Even if they don't know, you should."

Shoutmon dropped his arms, looking weary. "Give me a break. We've been walking for days. We're low on food, on water, we're _exhausted_. I just lost my bearings. And when my friend ran off to find food and got caught in your trap, I admit I overlooked our location when we went to help him. We are _not_ with the Kogamon."

"You see," Takato exclaimed. "This is why I didn't want to leave the path in the first place. I knew we'd get in trouble somehow."

Ninjamon studied them for a while, his eyes darting back and forth between the teens and Shoutmon. Finally though, he sheathed his sword. Placing his closed fist against an open palm, he bowed to them. "In that case, I apologize for attacking you. I thought you were the enemy. I wouldn't put it past those lousy Kogamon to bring outsiders into our war. They're despicable. This feud has always been between us, and should remain so. We Ninjamon would never allow someone else to defeat our enemies."

Takato sweat-dropped and smiled uncertainly. "I'm sure they feel the same," he said with a nervous laugh.

Shoutmon visibly relaxed. "What's the deal with the traps and attacking though? I thought you and the Kogamon were bound by the No Hostilities Pact."

Ninjamon crossed his arms. "We are, and we Ninjamon will honor it, no matter how much we desire to crush the Kogamon. However, one of them has trespassed in our territory and stole from us. They're still here somewhere causing trouble. We will not attack the Kogamon Clan, but we do have the right to defend and fight for our territory."

Tai looked at the pitfall. "Oh, so that's why you set up all those traps."

"Why are you fighting anyway?" Kari asked. "What the reason for this feud?"

Ninjamon scoffed. "Simply put, it's because the Kogamon are the most vile, despicable, dishonorable, evil creatures in the entire Digital World."

Shoutmon rolled his eyes. "And I'm sure the Kogamon would say the exact same thing about you if we asked them." He glanced at the teens. "This feud has been going on between the two clans for over 5,000 years."

Davis whistled. "That's a long time."

The dragon Digimon nodded. "Yeah, and after a long, bloody, and violent history, the war between them _really_ escalated, but a mighty and powerful Digimon known as Volcanusmon, whom both the Ninjamon and Kogamon deeply respect, installed the No Hostilities Pact 1,000 years ago to stop them from constantly killing each other over and over again."

Takuya frowned in thought. "This story is sounding very familiar."

"Yeah, it's an anime and a manga called _Basilisk_ ," Davis confirmed. He looked at Takato and grinned. "Even I saw that one. It's the one with the war between the Iga Clan and the Kouga Clan. Hey, maybe they should have called you guys Igamon and Kougamon."

"Davis," Tai snapped, "this is no joking matter. If you watched _Basilisk_ , then you should know how serious this feud is."

His look-alike held his hands up defensively. "Whoa, now, I didn't mean anything by that. Besides, they got that peace treaty of theirs, so there's no problem."

A vein bulged in Ninjamon's temple. "It's _not_ a peace treaty. We'll _never_ have peace with the Kogamon. We simply aren't going aren't going around killing each other." He cracked his knuckles. "At least not without cause. And this trespassing, thieving Kogamon that thought he could come onto our land and steal from us has invited his own death. I'm going to make sure he never makes it back to his clan alive."

"Unless I kill you first. _Makibishi!"_

It happened so fast that no one had a chance to move. From out of another tree, a different Digimon leapt from the branches, throwing several caltrops at Ninjamon. They hit their target, only Ninjamon had suddenly become yet another log dressed in robes.

The newcomer landed and the teens did a double-take. Aside from wearing purple instead of red, this Digimon looked exactly like Ninjamon in terms of appearance, yet the Digimon Analyzer revealed that this was indeed Kogamon.

Coming up from behind, Ninjamon swiped at Kogamon with his sword, only to have it pass right through, his target nothing more than shadow and vapor. Not to be fooled, the ninja Digimon whirled around as Kogamon appeared and swung his own sword, the two blades crossing.

"Kogamon," the red ninja growled.

"Ninjamon," snarled the purple.

The teens stared at the nearly identical Digimon. Davis was pointing back and forth between the two, looking flabbergasted. "They're exactly the same."

"No," said Shoutmon, "one's Kogamon, the other is Ninjamon. Despite their similar appearances, their Digi-Code is completely different."

"That's nonsense. It's just like when video game developers get lazy with character design and simply render the same enemy a different color and say it's someone else."

The two ninja Digimon continued to push against the other's sword. "How dare you come onto our land! You deserve everything that happens to you!"

"Me? I'm only here because of you. That's just like you rotten Ninjamon. You manipulate things so they're in your favor, allowing you to justify your actions and place the blame on others so you look like you're in the right."

"That's a bold-faced lie, and you know it. You were stealing, and I was merely defending our land."

"Ninjamon trash!"

"Kogamon scum!"

They leapt apart and then came together again, their swords clashing together in a blur of movements almost too fast to see. The teens stared, stunned, by the sudden fight to the death. Shoutmon though, looked rather bored, standing there with his arms crossed, as if this were completely normal.

TK continued to watch for a few seconds longer before it suddenly seemed to click that they should put a stop to this. "Hey, guys, cut it out."

He took a step towards them, and Shoutmon suddenly grabbed his arm, pulling him back. "Stay out of it."

The boy gave him a look of disbelief. "But if this goes on, one of them is going to get seriously hurt."

The dragon Digimon shook his head. "You can't stop it."

Kari stepped forward to side with the blonde boy. "We have to do something; they're going to kill each other."

Shoutmon turned to her, shaking his finger. "There's nothing you can do about it. You're just going to make the situation worse. This feud is 5,000 years in the making. Their hatred for each other runs so deep it's practically written in their code. Interfere, and each Clan will accuse the other of bringing outsiders into their feud, just as Ninjamon first assumed. It'll just make them hate each other all the more, and get you involved in a bad way. Trust me on this, there's nothing you can do to stop them. Just let them fight."

"But what if one of them dies?" Takato cried.

Shoutmon shrugged. "Then they die. I can assure you, in this feud, it will not be the first time."

Tai scowled. "If you ask me, it seems like Digimon coming back to life has made a lot of you unappreciative of life and more eager and willing to kill."

For several seconds, he and Shoutmon glared at each other, then the dragon Digimon looked away. "Perhaps, but things work differently here than in your world. You have to understand, accept, and respect that. Just like you have to accept that there is no stopping these guys."

" _Iga-Style Sword Dance!"_ Ninjamon cried. Moving too fast to see, he vanished. His unseen blade sliced straight through Kogamon. Ninjamon appeared behind him, smirking, but the grin quickly left his face as Kogamon turned to shadows and faded away. "That damn shadow cloning technique!"

" _Makibishi!"_ Kogamon's voice rang out.

Several ninja stars flew out of a tree. Ninjamon's eyes widened and he spun around using his _Dancing Leaves_ attack. A tornado of leaves surrounded him that Kogamon's caltrops flew into. When the leaves dispersed, Ninjamon was gone, and the deadly stars Kogamon had thrown were in the ground, having hit nothing.

A _shing_ was heard, and the tree Kogamon was hiding in began to fall over, having been cut in half by Ninjamon's sword at the base of the trunk. Kogamon leapt out of the branches, kicked off another tree, and flew at Ninjamon. He stabbed forward, feeling his blade pierce something, but it was just another robed log.

"Where are they getting all these logs and robes from?" Takato wondered out loud. "Even in anime, that's never explained."

At that moment, Ninjamon leapt out of hiding, his sword raised. Likewise, Kogamon jumped towards him as well, swinging his own blade. Davis couldn't take it anymore and suddenly charged forward. "Forget feuds, and forget anime, this needs to stop."

"You idiot!" Shoutmon shouted after him.

Davis ran right between the two ninja Digimon. Both their eyes widened, as both were in the process of swinging their swords. "Look out!"

"Get back!"

The teens shouted their friends' name as the metal _clang_ of swords coming together was heard. They'd shut their eyes against what was sure to be a grisly sight, but as the seconds ticked by, they slowly worked up the courage to take a peek.

Davis was on the ground with Shoutmon standing on top of him. He held his mic high over his head, both Ninjamon and Kogamon's swords resting against it, the dragon Digimon's face contorted with the strain from the effort it had taken to hold back the blows.

The two ninja Digimon leapt back, and, thankfully, did not resume their battle. Davis dared to crack an eye open, and was overcome with relief to find he was still alive. "Phew. I thought I was a goner."

Shoutmon brought his mic down on his head, hard. "You imbecile! I told you to stay out of it."

Kogamon pointed an accusing finger at Ninjamon. "Ha! I knew it! You did bring these outsiders into our feud. That's why this one defended you just now."

"Me? Don't be ridiculous. As if I'd ever let anyone else kill one of you Kogamon scum. That right belongs to the Ninjamon alone. Admit it, you hired them, didn't you? My instincts were right. Why else would they try and protect you?"

Was Ninjamon back to thinking they were the enemy again? Takuya thought it best to nip this in the bud right now. "We're not on anyone's side. We just want peace."

Ninjamon gave a bark of laughter. "Yeah, right. There can never be peace as long as the Kogamon are around."

"You're one to talk. Especially after you Ninjamon broke Volcanusmon's trust by taking the scroll."

"Why you-"

"Enough!" Tai shouted. "Regardless of whatever your beef is with each other, aren't you guys bound by the No Hostilities Pact?"

Ninjamon's eye twitched. "Yes, unless it's broken."

"And he broke it!" Kogamon accused.

"Like hell I did! You broke it with your trespassing and thievery!"

"I didn't steal or trespass on anything! You just made up a reason to attack me!"

Kari stepped forward. "Ok, ok. Lets try to resolve this without any violence. Ninjamon, what do you think Kogamon stole?"

It was a good choice of words as it neither accused Kogamon of the crime, nor did it dismiss Ninjamon's accusations. Yet what the red-clothed ninja Digimon said next was quite unexpected. "A pear."

The teens stared at him. Silence reigned for several seconds as this sunk in. "A pear as in a fruit?" Takato asked.

"Of course."

Davis made a face. "You must be kidding! You guys are trying to kill each other over a stupid pear?!"

"It's the principle of the matter," Ninjamon insisted. "If there's nothing to stop these Kogamon scum from stealing the small things, then what's to stop them from taking something important, like our half of the sacred scroll?"

"As if I'd want anything that belongs to you Ninjamon trash," Kogamon argued.

"You sure wanted our pear!"

"It was not your pear!"

"Was too!"

"Ok!" Tai said loudly. "Kogamon, why don't you give us your side of the story."

The purple clothed ninja Digimon crossed his arms. "Gladly." He glared at Ninjamon. "I did not steal your pear. The tree it was growing on was on the Kogamon side of the river. Thus it belonged to the Kogamon."

Kari glanced at Ninjamon. "Is that true?"

"The part about the tree being on the Kogamon side is," the red ninja Digimon admitted, "but the branch the pear was on was hanging over the Ninjamon side of the river above our land. It was on our side, so it was the property of the Ninjamon."

"It was the Kogamon's tree, so it was _our_ pear."

"If it had fallen off the branch, it would have landed on the Ninjamon's side, so it was ours."

Shoutmon massaged his temple, feeling a headache coming on. "So let me get this straight, next to the river that divides the Kogamon and Ninjamon's land, there's a pear tree on the Kogamon's side whose branch grew out over the river onto the Ninjamon's side, and you're fighting over who the pear growing on that branch belongs to?"

"Yes!" the two ninja Digimon snapped.

Takuya shook his head. "I don't believe this."

"Well…" Takato ventured, "I guess I can see how it might be a gray area."

"There's no gray area about it!" Kogamon snapped. "It was a Kogamon tree!"

"That extended onto the Ninjamon's land, making it ours."

TK sighed at the hopelessness of the situation. "Kogamon, why did you even go for that particular pear anyway? Surely there were others in the tree."

"Because it was the biggest one."

Davis nodded. "A solid reason."

Kogamon pointed at his nemesis. "And this vermin attacked me when I was getting it."

"You were trespassing on Ninjamon land with the intent to steal. You're _still_ trespassing"

Tai looked at Kogamon. "He has a point; you _are_ on their land."

The purple ninja Digimon snorted. "Not by choice. I was walking along the branch to get the pear when this scumbag threw his shuriken at me. The branch broke when it hit, and I fell into the river and was washed up onto their land. Then before I could get back to the Kogamon side, this freak attacked me again and chased me further into their territory. He might as well have lassoed me with a rope, dragged me to his side, and declared I was trespassing."

"You _are_ trespassing. You've been trespassing since the second you walked along that branch that hung onto our side, thief."

"Now, now," said Takato, sensing that the fight was about to resume. "Let's look at both sides of the argument. Ninjamon, if the branch of one of your trees grew out over onto the Kogamon side, would you say that the fruit on that branch belongs to the Kogamon?"

The red ninja Digimon's eyes flashed violently. "Are you taking his side?!"

Takato waved his hands. "No, no! I'm not taking sides! I'm just trying to make a point so we can come to a peaceful solution."

"He's just dodging the question," Kogamon accused. "See, deceitful and manipulative, trying to make everything work in their favor to absolve them of any responsibility."

"Shut up, Kogamon scum! I'm not dodging any question. And we Ninjamon wouldn't be stupid or lazy enough to allow anything of our trees to grow out onto the Kogamon side."

Kogamon scoffed. "As if you Ninjamon could even grow anything edible in that rot you call soil in the first place. It's no wonder you're so desperate to get a hold of our fruit; you'd never get any otherwise."

Ninjamon brandished his sword. "I'll get a hold of you!"

Kogamon did the same. "Bring it on, Ninjamon trash!"

"Guys, please," TK begged. "Can't we just work this out?"

"No way," Ninjamon snarled.

"Not a chance," Kogamon agree. "There can never be peace between the Kogamon and the Ninjamon."

"Our thoughts exactly."

The final statement had not come from either of the ninja Digimon, nor from the teens. Instead, they looked up to find four more Ninjamon in the trees, and they were all giving Kogamon looks that could kill.

Tai looked at the group of Ninjamon, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. "Hey, Takato, I saw _Basilisk_ too, but it's been awhile. Wasn't one side more, uh, evil and eager to kill than the other?"

Takayto nodded. "Yeah, the Iga were glad the treaty was dissolved and used trickery, deceit, and despicable underhanded tactics to wipe out then Kouga. With the exception of one or two that had personal vendettas against the Iga, the Kouga sought answers for why the No Hostilities Pact was dissolved and was more reluctant to fight."

"He's right," Davis agreed. "In fact, one of the Iga was particularly sadistic, and was even responsible for making sure the two clans continued to hate and fight each other."

"Right, I thought as much," Tai grumbled. He looked back at the group of red ninja Digimon. "And which ones do the Ninjamon represent?"

Both Takato and Davis sweat-dropped. "The Iga."

"I was afraid of that."

" _Ninja Knife Throwing!"_ several of the Ninjamon shouted, leaping out of the trees and throwing a series of knives and shuriken. They passed through Kogamon, and the shadow faded away.

"Damn," one of the newcomers growled, this one's voice indicating that it was female, even though it looked exactly like the others. "He used his _Koga Style Shadow Clone._ Where's the real one?"

"There he goes!" another cried, pointing.

Kogamon was leaping through the trees. He spun around and threw a handful of caltrops at them. One of the Ninjamon knocked them away with their sword and pointed it at the retreating ninja Digimon. "Get him!"

"I got him!" A knife was thrown. It missed Kogamon and buried into the tree, but managed to snag the lace of his facemask. It held him back as he leapt away, and he tumbled down the tree. The Ninjamon cheered and surrounded him. Kogamon attempted to rise, but the Ninjamon began ruthlessly kicking him.

The teens winced with each blow. Kogamon was taking a beating, and was unable to defend himself at this point. Shoutmon had told them to stay out of it, that there was nothing they could do to help, and any attempt would just increase hostilities between the two clans, but how could they just stand by and watch this?

"We have to do something," TK insisted.

"You can't," Shoutmon repeated.

"We have to try," Davis argued. "Lets Spirit Evolve."

"You'll only make things worse!"

Tai took out his Digivice. "Just me then. This way I can take all the blame."

"Tai-"

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… MetalGreymon!"_

The cyborg dinosaur Digimon stomped down as hard as he could, shaking the ground. The Ninjamon's attention turned to him, and he roared. He swiped his metal claw through the air, dragging a trail of fire along intimidatingly. The Ninjamon yelped at the giant Ultimate and took off into the trees.

MetalGreymon nodded in satisfaction. "Good, it didn't come to a fight."

Shoutmon slapped his forehead. "Oh, great. You really did it now. I just hope the No Hostilities Pact will prevent an all out war."

"Well, we had to do something," Kari insisted, going to Kogamon's side. "They were going to kill him."

"Well, now they'll probably kill us. They only fled 'cause they knew the were no match for an Ultimate, but they'll be back, and in much greater numbers."

"Good to know, now shut up," MetalGreymon grumbled. He reached down and scooped up the ninja Digimon. "Hey, pal, which way is your village?"

Kogamon cracked open an eye. "Why should I tell you? So you can attack my clan members? Did the Ninjamon put you up to this? For all I know, this could be a ruse to lead you to my home. That way the Ninjamon could wipe out my clan through you without having broken the No Hostilities Pact."

"Oh, for the love of…" Davis grumbled. "We're not working with the Ninjamon. Heck, that guy thought we were working for you. Besides, he even stated how they'd never allow anyone else into your feud because they wanted to be the ones to kill you all."

Kogamon scoffed. "As if the Ninjamon would have such honor."

Takuya sighed. "Look at it this way then, if we were hired by the Ninjamon, wouldn't they have just told us where your clan is rather than make some elaborate plan to trick you into taking us there?"

"A deception. Make you look uninvolved so we'd lower our guard, and make the Ninjamon look innocent in their involvement."

Flabbergasted, Takato looked at the others. "There's no talking to these guys."

Shoutmon shook his head. "Look, there's a difference between being cautious and being paranoid. Are you Kogamon really that cowardly?"

The ninja Digimon glared at him. "We are a brave and honorable people."

The dragon Digimon smirked. "Great, then there's no problem. I'm not saying to not be careful, be as suspicious and on guard as you want; just tell us where your village is."

Kogamon hesitated, not sure if he could trust them. Eventually though, he pointed, and the group hurried off before the Ninjamon returned with reinforcements.

 **(A/N: The next arc has begun. This is the Kogamon/Ninjamon Arc. As I said, I'm borrowing the theme from one of my favorite animes,** _ **Basilisk**_ **{great anime}. What can I say, the Kogamon/Ninjamon made it way too easy {their Japanese names are even Kougamon and Igamon}. Like I said before, this arc is going to be very different from the previous ones, and I can't wait to get to it. So be sure to let me know what you think, and stay tuned for more.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Ninjamon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Kogamon**


	57. Chapter 57: Confrontations

**(A/N: Alrighty then. The next chapter is here. We're going to get some more insight in the Kogamon and Ninjamon. Did our heroes make the right choice in going to the Kogamon village? Maybe they should have just kept going. Only time, and reading, will tell.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 57: Confrontations**

The Kogamon village was a complete cliché. It was a very stereotypical ninja dojo estate, the only residents being Kogamon. Most were training, but a few others were going about their daily lives or doing choirs or other duties. Being the only type of Digimon around, the teens and Shoutmon got a lot of unusual looks from the Kogamon.

Tai was glad he had changed back to his human form before having approached the village. There had to have been over a hundred Kogamon here. He may be an Ultimate, but he was pretty sure that this many Champions would be able to take him down.

The Kogamon that he and Takuya were supporting had gotten them through the gates and passed the guards without much issue and was now directing them through the estate. "I have to take you to our clan leader. As long as you have no ill intentions, everything will be fine."

TK was getting a sense of déjà vu. "This feels very familiar."

Takato felt it too. "Yeah, we're not going to be attacked by any snatchers, are we?"

Kogamon gave him a strange look. "By what?"

"Never mind," Davis grumbled. "It's a long exhausting story."

The ninja Digimon continued to look at them strangely, then shrugged. "If you say so. The only danger here is if the Ninjamon decide to break the No Hostilities Pact, or if you really are working for-"

"We're not with the Ninjamon," Takuya interrupted, growing frustrated with the way they kept coming back to the same subject.

"Then there is nothing for you to fear."

Under the teens' support, he brought them to the head household. Eight Kogamon, four on each side, stood along the steps. At the top of the stairs, sitting in apparent deep meditation, was another Kogamon. Unlike the others, there was one minor distinction between this one and the others. The mask he wore had a stitches across it, as if he had narrowly missed getting sliced in half, having only his mask cut instead, and then stitched the tear.

The injured Kogamon wiggled out of Tai and Takuya's support and knelt down before the Kogamon leader. "Sir, may I present Shoutmon and his human companions."

The clan leader was silent for several seconds before finally opening his eyes. "Humans, you say. Curious, very curious."

Takato sighed. "Yeah, this reaction is really getting old."

The injured Kogamon continued. "They saved me from the Ninjamon."

Something hostile flashed in the clan leader's eyes. "The Ninjamon? They were on our land?" His eyes narrowed. "Or were you on theirs?"

Before half-truths were thrown in, Shoutmon spoke up. "Long story short, he ended up in the river and was washed up onto their land where he was attacked. We saved him."

The leader's eyes shifted from the dragon Digimon to the injured Kogamon. "You fell in the river?"

The Kogamon looked embarrassed. "Not quite. I… let my guard down, and-"

"Inexcusable. We must never let our guard down, even when we sleep. You must hone your skills some more. We cannot allow our clan to grow soft."

Well scolded, the injured Kogamon bowed lower. "Understood."

"Good. Now, see to your injuries, and get some rest. Once you have recovered, I want you to double your training until I say otherwise."

"Yes, master." And with that, the injured Kogamon left, leaving the teens in the presence of the clan leader and his eight guards. The leader studied them with interest, keeping his expression neutral as he seemed to try and figure out what to do with them.

"Soooo…" Takato ventured, "you're the leader of the Kogamon Clan?"

"I am," the leader replied simply.

"That's cool. Um…" he looked around curiously, "is your clan made up solely of Kogamon?"

"It is. All Kogamon are welcome to join, but they _must_ be Kogamon. And should any Kogamon Digivolve and choose to Digivolve, they are expelled from the clan."

Davis raised an eyebrow. "That seems kind of racist."

"It protects the balance and unity in our clan, keeping us as equals, and it has allowed us to maintain a peaceful living."

Tai crossed his arms. "I guess I can understand that. Do the Ninjamon do that too?"

Kogamon's gaze darkened. "They do. It's about the only thing we agree on." He leaned forward. "Why do you ask?"

TK decided to get this out of the way right away. "We're just curious. We're _not_ working with the Ninjamon."

"And even if they did hire us, it would still be a breech of the No Hostilities Pact," Kari pointed out. "Just an indirect one."

The leader seemed to relax a bit. "This is true. We of the Kogamon Clan will honor the Pact, and we hope the Ninjamon will as well. However, if they do attack us, we will eliminate them without mercy; they are a despicable species with no honor."

Davis cut his eyes and looked away. "Yeah, they pretty much said the same thing about you"

Cries of enraged protest rang out from the Kogamon guards as the leader jumped to his feet. "We are _nothing_ like those Ninjamon trash. As much as we despise them, we will follow the terms set by Volcanusmon in the No Hostilities Pact. We owe him that."

Takato waved his hands. "We're not making any accusation; it's just what the Ninjamon said about you."

"Who is this Volcanusmon anyway?" Kari asked, quickly changing the subject. "We've never heard of him."

The leader sat down again, though he was still noticeably upset. "He's a powerful Mega level Digimon who has gained the title of an Olympic Twelve. He saved both the Kogamon and Ninjamon from the chaos long ago."

Tai raised an eyebrow. "Er, the chaos?"

Shoutmon waved it off. "Please, don't get into that. It's a long complicated story of the darkest age of the Digital World. It happened a very long time ago; please, just let it go."

The Kogamon leader humphed. "In any case, soon the Kogamon and the Ninjamon will have a more… solid and lasting _peace_." He spat the last word in disgust, as if saying it had left a bad taste in his mouth.

Before the teens could inquire further on what this lasting peace was, the door to the main house opened and a new Digimon walked out. This Digimon was not a Kogamon, but resembled an anthropomorphic cat. She was actually quite beautiful as far as humanoid feline.

Yawning, the cat Digimon looked at the Kogamon leader. "What's going on, master? I heard some yelling."

The Kogamon leader glanced at her. "Ah, Beastmon, glad you could join us. As you can see, we have guests. Humans, this is my chosen heir, Beastmon. She will be leading the Kogamon when I retire from my position."

The teens looked at the cat Digimon, who waved at them happily, then at the leader, then at the other ninja Digimon. "Um…" Takato muttered, "not to be disrespectful or anything, but I thought only Kogamon we're allowed in your clan. So how can a non-Kogamon _lead_ the clan?"

The leader crossed his arms as Beastmon knelt down beside him. "Long story short, even after Volcanusmon invoked the No Hostilities Pact 1,000 years ago, he was displeased to see that we and the Ninjamon were still not at peace with one another. So he decreed that both the Kogamon and Ninjamon leaders would choose an heir to take over."

Beastmon pointed to herself. "That's me."

"He hoped that a change in leadership would reduce the hatred between our clans."

Not understanding what this had to do with anything, Takato glanced at Shoutmon for answers, but the dragon Digimon shrugged. "Ooook, that didn't really answer my question though."

The cat Digimon scratched the back of her head bashfully. "I was naughty."

Kogamon humphed again. "She was once a Kogamon as well, but one day our village was attacked by an evil Digimon, and she was killed during it."

Beastmon shrugged. "It happens."

"Ordinarily, when a member of the Kogamon dies, after we're reborn, we strive to reach the Kogamon stage again. She did as well, but by the time she was ready to return to the village, she had become good friends with another Digimon known as DarkLizardmon."

"We were besties!"

Davis felt a headache coming on and looked to his friends. "Are you guys following any of this?"

"Do not interrupt the clan leader!" one of the guards snapped.

The leader nodded his thanks to the guard. "In accordance to our laws, we only allow Kogamon into our clan to maintain peace and stability, but my heir didn't want to be separated from her companion."

"DarkLizardmon and I were BFFs," the cat Digimon declared stubbornly. She punched the air. "Girl friends are forever!"

The leader sighed. "All the same, she had a duty to her people and couldn't just leave, so to make sure she and her friend could stay together, they DNA Digivolved to Beastmon here, and refused to separate ever since."

Beastmon shrugged. "It was a fair compromise."

Kogamon's fists clenched. "I had already been training her to be my replacement for 772 years prior to that, so we sought Volcanusmon's advice. He actually thought that it would be a good idea to have the new leader be different from the rest of the clan, and suggested the Ninjamon do the same, also through DNA Digivolution to bring a new perspective to the clan. So the Ninjamon heir DNA Digivolved with a Garurumon who was allied with their clan." He glared at Beastmon. "Although neither are allowed to Digivolve any further."

The cat Digimon just waved it off. "That's fine. I'm happy the way I am. I'll stay Beastmon forever."

The Kogamon leader shook his head. "After the Ninjamon leader and I step down, the two of them will rule the two clans after the mating ceremony."

Takuya did a double-take. "Whoa, whoa, back up. Mating ceremony?"

Shoutmon nudged him. "It's a ceremony similar to what you humans call a wedding."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I figured as much. I meant, what mating ceremony?"

Beastmon folded her hands, lowered her head, and closed her eyes. "The one between myself and the Ninjamon heir."

"Eh?!" the teens exclaimed.

Something suddenly clicked in TK's head. "Wait, is this that longer lasting and more solid peaceful solution you mentioned?"

Kogamon nodded. "It is. This arrangement was decreed by Volcanusmon."

"But that's…" Kari began trying to find the right words for it. "To force a union like that…"

"And what's the point in having a ceremony?" Davis asked. "Don't two people just need to have sex to be considered mates?"

The others ignored him. "Beastmon," said TK, "how do you feel about this?"

The cat Digimon kept her eyes closed. "I am duty bound and honored to serve my people."

"But this is too extreme!" Takato objected. "How could Volcanusmon just force you guys to marry like this?"

Tai crossed his arms. "It's actually a logical idea." He received surprised looks from his friends. "I said logical, not ethical. If the clan leaders marry, or whatever it is Digimon do, then the two clans will be bound together. Things like this happened in the Real World a lot throughout history. Heck, they still do today."

"But, Tai," Kari objected, "what about Beastmon and the Ninjamon heir's feelings?"

"Again, I said logical, not ethical. Though I don't agree with it, I can see where Volcanusmon is coming from. If two people have to sacrifice their happiness to save hundreds, then it's worth it. At least that's what Volcanusmon probably thinks."

Kari looked down, frowning. "I don't think I could ever be in a loveless marriage."

"To us ninja Digimon, duty comes before our own personal feelings," Kogamon replied.

"And I shall do mine, and find contentment that our two clans will finally have peace," Beastmon added.

"But…" Kari began to protest, but trailed off as her brother placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

"It's not our problem," he told her. "We can't get involved in this."

Actually," said Takato, "if you don't mind me bringing this up again, this is a lot like what happened in the _Basilisk_ anime. Maybe the two will learn to love each other, or perhaps they already do." He looked at Beastmon. "Do you? Are you in love with the Ninjamon heir?"

The cat Digimon's eyes widened. "I…" She looked away and blushed.

Takato wasn't entirely sure what to make of that. "Um… ok. Well, we can at least hope things won't end as tragically as they did in the anime."

"Yes," Kogamon agreed. "As much as we hate the Ninjamon, we hope to end this with as little violence as possible." He interlocked his fingers and gave them a hard look. "Now, I hope that now that I have answered all your questions, you will now be willing to answer mine."

Takato gulped nervously. "Uh… sure…"

"Good. Now then," he leaned forward and asked in a serious voice, "what is this anime?"

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

The teens were invited to have dinner and spend the night. Currently, they were seated at the head of the table while the rest of the ninja Digimon filled the room. The Kogamon leader was very curious about the Real World and asked many questions.

After Takato explained what anime was to him, he was made to explain why the Kogamon and Ninjamon's situation was similar to _Basilisk_. This, in turn, led to him having to explain the entire series to the Kogamon leader, who was none to happy with the ending.

"It is as I said," the leader growled, "the Ninjamon are evil, despicable, dishonorable, fiends. The Iga in your story are perfect examples of how vile they are."

Takato sweat-dropped. "R-Right. Um, you do remember what I said about it being fictional, right? The Iga and Kouga in real life were very different than how the anime portrays them."

"And the ending of our feud shall be different as well," Kogamon insisted. "The Kogamon Clan will never fall!"

Beside him, Beastmon sat quietly. She hadn't spoken a word through the entire story, but she wore a sad smile on her face and had a lost look in her eyes. Kari took notice of this and nudged TK, nodding towards her. He gave her hand a squeeze, indicating that he realized it too. Despite claiming that she was happy to do what was necessary for her people, she clearly didn't want this mating ceremony to take place.

"You know," said Takuya, "we've never seen a Digimon wedding, er, I mean mating ceremony. What's it like?"

"You can come," Kogamon told him. "It would be an honor to have humans bear witness to this union, despite who it's to."

Kari's face lit up. "Really?" Even though she did not approve of forcing this fate upon Beastmon, she did indeed want to see what it would be like. "Can we go, Tai?"

He considered it. "I don't know. We want to get home as soon as we can, and it sounds like this engagement has been around for a while. When is the ceremony going to take place?"

"In four days," Kogamon replied, clearly disgusted by the thought of it.

Tai sighed. "In that case, sure, why not? We've already been gone from home for months now. What's four more days?"

"Sweet!" Davis cried. "Wedding feast!"

TK sighed. "Isn't there another way to maintain peace besides a wedding, er, mating ceremony?"

Kogamon closed his eyes, grumbling. "If there were, I would take it. Trust me when I say that tainting the Kogamon Clan with Ninjamon trash is the last thing I want. I'd much rather wipe out those vermin, but I will honor and obey Lord Volcanusmon's will. He has never steered us wrong before, and has always had everyone's best interests at heart. And so we shall go through with this most despicable deed." He glanced at Beastmon. "Won't we?"

She kept her eyes closed as she nodded. "Yes, master."

The mood had turned dark. There was no doubt that no one in the Kogamon Clan wanted this wedding to take place; the leader possibly just as much as Beastmon, only he was much more vocal in his distaste.

TK and Kari looked at each other, not knowing what they could do. They glanced at Tai, who caught their eye, and shook his head, silently telling them to stay out of it. Shoutmon was no help either as he continued to stuff his face.

The meal continued on, but was soon interrupted as a Kogamon that was meant to be on guard duty came bursting on. "My lord! My lord!"

The leader stood up, looking furious. "What is it? You are being very disrespectful to our guests."

"Forgive me, my lord, but the Ninjamon are coming."

The leader's eyes widened, his anger shifting from the guard to their enemies. "What? They violate the No Hostilities Pact? Well, we'll see about this. Kogamon, move out!"

All the Kogamon in the room rushed out, the leader and Beastmon close behind. Kari may have imagined it, but she could have sworn she saw a hopeful look on the cat Digimon's face before she took off.

Shoutmon got to his feet. "This could be trouble. We better go see."

They hurried outside. The Kogamon were all rushing out the gates or gathering on top of the wall, all with either their swords drawn or a handful of caltrops. The teens pushed their way to the front beside Beastmon and the Kogamon leader, ready to step in in case a fight broke out.

Coming out of the forest was a large group of Ninjamon. At the front were three Digimon leading the group. The first was another Ninjamon. This one seemed to be the Ninjamon leader, and he had an X shaped scar on his left cheek. It was the first time the teens had ever seen an actual scarring on a Digimon; possibly because a Digimon's healing and regeneration was superior to that of a humans, or maybe because a Digimon's data reset when it died, Digivolved, or DeDigivolved, ridding it of any abnormalities.

The other two were not Ninjamon. The first resembled a humanoid black crow, but seemed to be a swordsman of some kind. The one to the Ninjamon leader's right was far more intimidating and looked very powerful. It resembled a muscular four-armed warrior with flames on certain portions of his body, and he had multiple faces, each one wearing a different colored mask.

"Who are those two?" Takato wondered out loud.

Tai checked his Digivice. "The crow is Karatenmon, an Ultimate level Digimon. His special attack is _Harmony Swords_ , allowing him to read his foe's spirit to anticipate attacks. The other one is Asuramon, a powerful Ultimate level Digimon. His four faces represent joy, anger, sorrow, and humor."

"Well, it looks he's got his angry face on right now," Takuya noted.

"He's the Ninjamon heir," Beastmon told them, "and my intended."

"Yikes," Takato muttered. "No offense, but he's pretty scary looking."

"We view looks differently than you humans do," Shoutmon reminded them. "Quite frankly, you guys look pretty funny to me."

The Ninjamon came to a stop a good twenty feet away from the Kogamon. The Kogamon leader crossed his arms and glared at the Ninjamon leader. "You're violating the No Hostilities Pact. You come onto our land, no invite, no parley, with an army of soldiers. I hope you are ready to face the consequences. You're giving us grounds to attack."

Asuramon's fists ignited. "Just try it, Kogamon scum!"

"Stand down!" the Ninjamon leader ordered, and the flames went out in the demon Digimon's hand. The leader glared at Kogamon. "We are the ones with the cause to attack."

"I beg to differ. The treaty prevents us from going onto each other's territory uninvited, or to fight without cause. I do not recall providing you an invite, or you asking for one."

The crow Digimon spoke up. "An impossible feat if we are unable to contact without entering your land."

The Ninjamon leader glared at him. "Remember your place."

Karatenmon bowed his head. "Forgive me, master."

Ninjamon's attention returned to Kogamon. "This is our parley now."

"It looks more like a war party," Kogamon accused.

"A necessary precaution to protect ourselves, especially after one of your people trespassed on our land and did battle with one of our own. The very subject we have come to discuss."

Beastmon took a step forward. "That was just a misunderstanding."

The Ninjamon hissed and backed away from her, suddenly looking much more ready to attack. The leader pointed at her and snarled, "Keep her away from us!"

Kogamon held out his hand, and the cat Digimon backed away. Takuya raised an eyebrow at this. "What's up with that?"

"Beastmon has a special ability that they're afraid of," Shoutmon told them. "Her attack can cause another Digimon to DeDigivolve to the Rookie level and prevent them from Digivolving for short while. It only lasts for about a minute at most, but that's more than enough time for a stronger opponent to wipe you out."

Takato sweat-dropped. "A special ability to basically take away an opponent's power? This is feeling more and more like the _Basilisk_ anime."

The Kogamon leader pointed at Ninjamon. "So, my man trespassed on your territory, huh? Well, I'm sure that's what your man told you. Well, I received the full story of what happened. It was your man who was at fault for attacking mine while he was still on Kogamon ground and forcing him onto your land. That's a clear violation of the No Hostilities Pact."

"Lies! Your man was on Ninjamon territory before mine attacked."

TK sighed. "Not this again." He stepped forward. "Look, this whole thing is just one big misunderstanding. We were there, so we can tell you what really happened."

"Can you now?" came a voice from up above. "I would certainly like to hear what happened."

Flying down from the sky was a rather vicious looking Digimon. It had a serpentine lower body with arms and wings, and seemed to be cybernetic with weapons for hands. It looked very intimidating, but did not move to attack. Instead, it settled between the Kogamon and Ninjamon.

"Grimmon," said Kari, looking him up on her Digivice. "A very powerful Champion level Digimon, originally born from a mystic energy virus. His power mostly comes from summoning entities of some kind to attack."

"Interesting," Tai admitted, "but who is he?"

"He's Volcanusmon's envoy," Beastmon told them. "He's been living back and forth between the Kogamon and the Ninjamon for months now to make sure we maintain peace until the mating ceremony."

"Unless the No Hostilities Pact is broken by anyone," Grimmon added. "I want to make sure no one has violated the terms. You, human, you say you know what happened. Good, then tell me, and I will decide who is in the wrong."

TK suddenly felt nervous. "Um, ok. You see, it was like this…"

He recounted what happened with the pear and how both Ninjamon and Kogamon considered it theirs, and what had happened afterwards. The reaper Digimon listened intently, nodding every so often with his arms crossed. TK was grateful for that; Grimmon's hands looked like lethal weapons.

"I see," the reaper Digimon replied once TK finished. "Thank you, human, for your unbiased account. A gray area to be sure. However, I must rule in favor of the Kogamon."

"What?!" the Ninjamon leader bellowed as the rest of his people objected.

"How could you side with the Kogamon scum?" Asuramon demanded. "Do you favor them?"

"I remain neutral in this!" Grimmon snarled, raising up to tower over him. "This is the reason Volcanusmon sent me. My judgment is sound, while both clans are blinded by hatred." He flew over to a Ninjamon, snatched his sword, and threw it point first into the ground. "That sword belongs to a Ninjamon, but it is now on Kogamon land. Does that mean it now belongs to the Kogamon?"

"Of course not. It's still a Ninjamon sword, it's just on Kogamon land."

"As was the case with the pear." He looked directly into Asuramon's eyes. "Do not challenge me on this."

The demon Digimon looked like he wanted to argue, but fell silent. It was rather impressive seeing an Ultimate back down from and obey a Champion.

"What about those humans?" the Ninjamon leader demanded. "The Kogamon are bringing outsiders into our feud."

"Having guests is hardly bringing outsiders into your war," Grimmon stated.

"It is when they attack my people."

"Hey, we're not on anyone's side," Davis objected. "All we did was help someone in need, and were offered a place to stay for the night. We would have done the same for you Ninjamon if you were in trouble too. We are _not_ involved with this feud in any way."

Asuramon's eyes narrowed. "And we are just supposed to take the word of a bunch of outsiders associating with our enemies?"

Takato sweat-dropped. "He's got a point. Why would they trust us?"

"Enough of this!" Grimmon snapped. "I will stay with the Kogamon for now. It's already been a week since I've been here last." He looked at both groups. "I do not want any violence. In just a few days, you will all be one big happy family." His eyes narrowed. "Or will you disobey Volcanusmon, regardless of all he has done for you and the debt you all owe him."

No one objected, though it was clear that many wanted to. Grimmon nodded in satisfaction. "Good, then all of you disperse."

With great reluctance, the Ninjamon began to retreat, and the Kogamon went back inside their gate. Karatenmon lingered behind a few moments, watching the Kogamon leader and Beastmon before turning and walking away.

Asuramon remained behind as well, only he stepped forward. "I would have words with my intended."

Grimmon nodded. "I will allow it."

The Kogamon leader's eyes narrowed. "Make it fast."

Shyly, Beastmon stepped forward. Asuramon went to meet her, and the cat Digimon shifted uncomfortably. The demon Digimon nodded to her in greeting. "This confrontation has been most… regretful."

She was frowning at him now. "Did you want a fight?"

One of the demon Digimon's fists ignited. "It would not have been a fight; it would have been a massacre."

She glared at him. "Those are my people."

" _Our_ people soon, my dear. Just a few more days, and our clans shall be one, through us." He reached for her when she looked away, taking her chin in his big hand and turning her to face him. "Such loveliness. It's just a shame it had come from the Kogamon Clan. If only you had been of the Ninjamon line. But not to worry. I shall purify you off the Kogamon scum. Soon I will breathe the spirit of the Ninjamon into you."

Angry tears appeared in Beastmon's eyes, but she refused to back away. "Kogamon is in my code. Their ways are all I know, and I am proud of it."

His grip on her chin tightened. "Foolish, naïve girl. Soon you will-"

"That's enough," Kogamon interrupted. "We have guests to see to. Come, Beastmon."

The cat Digimon stepped back, out of the demon Digimon's grip. "Until next time, Asuramon."

The hand that had been griping her chin hung in the air, and slowly closed into a fist as he lowered it. "Yes, until then."

He turned and followed after the Ninjamon. Beastmon glanced back, a look of longing on her face, before she rejoined the Kogamon leader. The teens watched the two groups disperse, not sure what they should do.

Grimmon floated over to them, looking them up and down curiously. "So, humans. Most interesting I did not expect to find such creatures amongst the Kogamon. Very curious."

Feeling intimidated by the reaper Digimon's ferocious appearance, Takato took a step back. "Yeah, that's us, very curious creatures."

Grimmon grinned in amusement. "You have nothing to fear from me as long as you don't cause me any trouble. I have been working on maintaining the peace between the Kogamon and the Ninjamon for months now."

Takuya sweat-dropped. "Yeah, well, we'd like that too."

"Then our goals are the same. Perhaps we could be friends."

Kari was feeling just as intimidated, but tried not to let her discomfort show. After all, it wasn't right to discriminate someone based on how they looked or what they were. "I guess you can never have too many friends."

He pointed at her. "Well spoken, my dear. Now tell me, how did a group of humans get to the Digital World?"

Davis groaned. "Are we really going to have to go through this every time we meet someone new? Maybe we should just wear a sign."

Tai was thinking the same thing. "At this point, we're more concerned with how to get back than how we got here."

Grimmon tapped the weapons on his hands that served for fingers together in thought. "How indeed. But I'm afraid I have no answer for that. However, if you help me make sure the mating ceremony goes off without any issue, then perhaps I can help you find the answers you seek."

"We're going to see Cherubimon," Shoutmon told him.

Grimmon's eyebrows rose. "Ah, I see. Yes, he may know. In that case, I can help guide you there."

The dragon Digimon crossed his arms. "We're doing fine. I'm perfectly capable of bringing them there."

"Shoutmon, don't be rude," TK scolded lightly.

Tai nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it could be useful having someone else along in case our Digivices run out of power."

"Hey, I can defend you guys!"

"No one said you couldn't," Kari consoled, "but it wouldn't hurt to have someone else in case we're outnumbered or outmatched."

"Yeah, you are only a Rookie," Davis added without thinking. Shoutmon glared for a moment before kicking him in the shin and storming off. Davis yelped and grabbed his leg. "What was that for?"

Takato chuckled. "I think Shoutmon's jealous. It seemed like he kind of liked having us reply on him."

Grimmon shrugged. "I don't have to go with you if it will be a problem; it was only a suggestion. The offer is on the table if you want it." He closed his eyes and sniffed the air. "It smells like dinner is too. Lets eat."

 **(A/N: Well, things just got a lot more interesting. Two feuding clans, an arranged marriage, a unique peacekeeper, and our heroes are caught up in the middle of it all. I told you this arc would be different from the previous ones. With longer chapters too, based on the length of this one; let's see if I can keep that up. We've got a lot of exciting things to come, so stay tuned for more.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear, or are mentioned. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Beastmon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Volcanusmon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/DarkLizardmon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Garurumon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Karatenmon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Asuramon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Grimmon**


	58. Chapter 58: Late-Night Randevu

**(A/N: You know, I first saw Beastmon in** _ **Digimon World 3**_ **for the PlayStation and took an immediate liking to her. Back then she was called Persiamon. I liked that name a lot better than Beastmon. I don't understand the reason the show changes the names sometimes when they dub it. Did they think it sounded racist? But then what's the excuse for the other changes? I mean, sure, some changes sound better, like changing Pinochimon to Puppetmon, but others, I don't know. Ah, whatever. Anyway, here's the next chapter. The plot starts to get complicated, and there might be a little confusion, so I'll explain everything at the end in an Author's Note.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 58: Late-Night Randevu**

It was quiet that night. Or it had been until Davis started snoring. But that wasn't what woke Kari. After months of waking up at a certain time for watch duty every night, she had developed a type of internal alarm clock. So even though there was no need for it, she found herself waking up at her normal time.

Everyone else was still asleep, with the exception of the Kogamon guards stationed around the gate. Kari looked and saw her friends were all still asleep. They deserved it; it wasn't too often where they didn't need to worry about the possibility of not being attacked while they slept.

Getting up, she went to relieve herself. After finishing her business, she was heading back to bed when she caught movement out of the corner of her eyes. Something was in the trees, jumping from one to the other to remain hidden.

Ducking for cover, she stared into the branches, trying to make out who or what it was. Was it an enemy? Did one of the Ninjamon sneak in? She didn't know. But whoever they were, they seemed to be good at getting around undetected.

The person in the trees poked their head out to look around, and Kari gasped when she realized it was Beastmon. She looked around, making sure she wasn't followed before hopping over the gate.

Kari's curiosity had been piqued. Where was Beastmon going? Kari was itching to know. Was she fleeing from her unwanted wedding? Should she help her escape if she was? Maybe she could-

"Kari?"

She gasped and turned around to find TK and Shoutmon behind her. "Oh, it's just you guys."

"What's going on?"

She placed a finger over his lips. "Shh!"

TK nodded and she removed her finger. He lowered his voice and asked, "What are you doing? Shoutmon saw you leave."

The dragon Digimon nodded. "You woke me up when you left the hut, and I got worried when you didn't come back, so I woke TK here. Thought he'd be a better choice than your brother." He glared at her. "You should know better than to go sneaking around at night. Tensions and suspicions are already high here. We don't want to lose the Kogamon's trust."

She gave them an apologetic look. "Sorry. I was going to the bathroom and saw Beastmon sneak out."

"Sneak out?" the other two echoed.

She nodded. "Yeah, she just hopped the gate. Where do you think she's going?"

"Don't know, don't care," the dragon Digimon replied. "Lets just go back to bed before we get in trouble."

"But _she_ could be in trouble."

"She's a big girl, an Ultimate. She can take care of herself."

"Being an Ultimate doesn't mean anything," said TK. "She still might need our help."

Shoutmon rubbed his head and sighed. "You humans are so aggravating. Alright, lets go. And try not to get us caught."

They snuck over to the wall. Picking up Kari, Shoutmon jumped up into the tree, then over the wall, then he came back to get TK.

"That was… fun," TK muttered, feeling a bit of vertigo from the drop down. He made a mental note not to let the little dragon Digimon pick him up again.

"Har-har," Shoutmon muttered. "Lets go, and keep quiet."

It wasn't that hard to find her since their Digivices seemed to have a type of compass that pointed towards nearby Digimon. They followed the direction the red arrow pointed to, disappearing into the woods.

They hadn't gone too far before they came to a clearing. Beastmon was there, sitting on a tree stump with her eyes closed, the moonlight shining down on her from up above, making her look all the more beautiful.

TK, Kari, and Shoutmon stayed hidden in the bushes as they watched. "What do you think she's doing?" Kari asked.

TK shrugged. "Not sure. Meditating in the moonlight, maybe."

Shoutmon shushed them. "Unless you want her to find us so you can ask her yourselves, quiet down."

Beastmon's eyes opened and she looked around as if she had heard something. TK and Kari covered their Digimon friend's mouth as she stood up. Shoutmon's shush had actually been louder than their whispers. Had Beastmon heard them? Were they busted?

It turned out though, that what she had heard wasn't them. Coming out of the forest behind her was a certain crow Digimon, the same one they had seen during the confrontation with the Ninjamon earlier today.

"That's Karatenmon!" Kari gasped.

TK's eyes narrowed. "What's he doing here? He's breaking the No Hostilities Pact by being here without permission."

"You think they're going to fight?"

Beastmon turned around to face Karatenmon. Her face lit up and she let out a joyful cry before running to him. Karatenmon opened his arms to her, and she leapt into them. She hugged him tightly, both arms and legs wrapped around him tightly as she nuzzled into his neck. She pulled back and looked up at him, her eyes shining. He smiled down at her, then leaned in to kiss her.

Kari's face lit up with joy as TK turned bright red and looked away. Kari didn't even notice as she stared at the two kissing Digimon happily. "It's not a fight, it's a late night rendezvous!"

"I can see that," the blonde boy replied, even though he wasn't looking.

Shoutmon's mouth was hanging open as he stared. "Oh no… No, no, no. You've got to be kidding me. As if things weren't complicated enough between the Kogamon and Ninjamon. Now we've got _this_ going on? I knew I should have stayed in bed. I'm going back."

Kari grabbed his scarf and pulled him back. "Wait!"

They apparently were being too loud. Karatenmon broke the kiss and pulled Beastmon behind him, shielding her with his body. He pulled out his swords, holding them out in challenge. "Who's there? Show yourself."

Shoutmon groaned and pulled his scarf out of Kari's grip. "Now look what you did."

Karatenmon lowered his sword. "The humans?"

Beastmon poked her head out from behind the crow Digimon. "TK? Kari? Shoutmon? What are you three doing here?"

The dragon Digimon crossed his arms. "I could ask you the same thing. Seriously, Beastmon, what are you _thinking?_ Do you have _any_ idea of what the consequences will be if you guys get caught?"

The cat Digimon's ears drooped. "I know, I know. But I can't help it. I love Karatenmon. I've loved him for over 2,600 years, even when he was a Ninjamon and I was a Kogamon."

TK resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "It's a classic Romeo and Juliet scenario. Figures."

"I know I'm to be mated to Asuramon," she continued, shifting around uncomfortably, "and I don't mean to be unfaithful, but I love Karatenmon so much, I wanted to have whatever time I had left with him."

The crow Digimon stepped forward. "I will accept whatever punishment there is if it comes to it."

Beastmon turned to him, placing her hands on his chest. "No, my love. I will not allow you to take the fall alone."

He placed a hand over hers. "You're people need you, my darling. You are the future leader of the Kogamon. I am but another one of the many in the Ninjamon Clan, easily disposable."

"Not to me!" she wailed, and buried her face in his chest. "Not to me."

Kari's eyes were shining while Shoutmon made a "blah" noise. TK bopped him over the head. "Show some compassion. Remember Renamon." He looked back at the two love struck Digimon. "If an alliance is to be made through marriage, I mean, a mating, then why can't the two of you be wed, er, mated, whatever you call it, instead of Asuramon."

Karatenmon closed his eyes and sighed. "I wish it could be so, but I am not the heir to the Ninjamon Clan." He looked at Beastmon. "When we fell for each other, Beastmon, Asuramon, and I were still regular Kogamon and Ninjamon, and there were no heirs. We knew our romance was forbidden, so we would meet in secret. Then 1,000 years ago, Volcanusmon demanded that our leaders choose heirs to replace them. The Ninjamon that eventually became Asuramon was chosen, as was Beastmon back when she was still a Kogamon. Despite this, there was no talk of the heirs becoming a mated pair back then, so she and I continued to secretly meet."

Beastmon looked at the starry sky with a far away look in her eyes as she took over the story. "After I died and came back with to my village with DarkLizardmon, and the two of us DNA Digivolved to my current form, that was when Volcanusmon decided that the two heirs should become mates to establish lasting peace. So he had the Ninjamon heir find someone to DNA Digivolve with, hoping that combining with someone not of their clan would decrease the hostility the Ninjamon felt towards the Kogamon."

"Yeah, yeah," Shoutmon grumbled. "That's when the Ninjamon heir DNA Digivolved with a Garurumon to become Asuramon. I get it."

TK nodded, understanding. "So it's the fact that Asuramon is the Ninjamon heir that's the problem."

Karatenmon nodded. "I was devastated when I heard that Beastmon was to be mated to Asuramon. I hoped to prove my worth by showing that I would be a more worthy heir. I trained and studied and practiced relentlessly until I managed to Digivolve to the form you see before you now, even though I knew Digivolving was not allowed. I had hoped it would show our clan leader that I was more worthy than Asuramon, and he would name me as heir instead."

He sighed again. "I was a fool. Digivolving was not enough. Asuramon had been the heir and had been training to lead for nearly a millennia. All I ended up doing was breaking our clan's law of Digivolving out of my Ninjamon form, the punishment of which was banishment. However, I managed to convince the Ninjamon leader to allow me to stay until the mating ceremony, both to protect the peace, and to be able to depart from my clan knowing that the peace would be maintained."

Kari looked heartbroken for him. "That's so sad. Are you sure that's what you want?"

"It is no longer my choice. Only Ninjamon and Kogamon are allowed in their respected clans, with the exception of Asuramon and Beastmon. I broke our law, and must face the consequences of my actions."

"Couldn't you just DeDigivolve back to Ninjamon?" TK suggested.

The crow Digimon shook his head. "It does not matter. The fact that I would be _able_ to Digivolve violates our laws. It upsets the delicate balance within our clans. That is why I must go once the mating ceremony ends. Besides," he shut his eyes, "I would not be able to be around Beastmon, loving her like this, but knowing that she belongs to Asuramon."

"My love…" Beastmon said sadly.

Kari's heart went out to the two of them. She reached out and took TK's hand, and he gave it a reassuring squeeze as he asked, "Couldn't the two of you just elope? You know, run away and get marr- I mean, mated?"

"They can't," Shoutmon replied with his arms crossed and eyes closed. "Beastmon is the Kogamon heir, and has been trained for nearly 1,000 years. She has a duty to her people."

Looking downright miserable, the cat Digimon nodded. "Yes, otherwise I would have left with him long ago."

Karatenmon took her hand. "And I would have taken you far away from here, my dearest."

Kari was now openly scowling. "This isn't fair. You guys shouldn't have to be kept apart or be forced to marry someone you don't love because of some stupid feud."

"It's mated," Shoutmon correct.

"Married, mated, whatever you call it here. It's not something that should be forced like this."

"Doing what is right isn't always doing what's easy."

The group looked up to see a Digimon flying above them. "Grimmon," said Karatenmon.

The reaper Digimon came in for a landing. "Sometimes for such a cause, a sacrifice must be made."

"But why this?" Kari demanded. "Why them?"

"Because only such an action will result in peace, no matter how much we wish otherwise. Lord Volcanusmon knows this, and that is why he ordered it, despite the unfairness of it."

Shoutmon was nodding. "He's right. I have to admit it, but he us. As the Digimon King, I know what a burden one's duties can be."

Grimmon glared at the other two Digimon. "And you are jeopardizing the opportunity for lasting peace. You two should know better than to meet like this. What if your human friends or I were a member of either of your clans?"

Karatenmon and Beastmon looked away. They looked ashamed, but not sorry for what they had done, torn between their duty to their people and their duty to their hearts.

"Hey, lay off," TK snapped. "This is hard enough for them already."

Grimmon turned to him. Rising up on his serpentine body, he towered over the boy, looking very intimidating. "Do not lecture me, boy, especially when you know nothing of the circumstances. I realize this is hard for the two of them, but you must look at the bigger picture. Something like this could destroy the shaky peace the Kogamon and Ninjamon have. Of they're caught, the Ninjamon will accuse the Kogamon of betrayal by claiming that Beastmon seduced a mere foot soldier, and one that should have been banished at that.

"The Kogamon will likewise accuse the Ninjamon of something similar, and both sides will declare the No Hostilities Pact to have been broken by the other. We'll have an all out war on our hands that not even Volcanusmon may be able to stop. Hundreds will die, one or both clans might even fall, all because these two couldn't keep their hands to themselves. It's a harsh fact, but it's the truth, and there's nothing we can do to change it. Is that what you want?"

"Grimmon, stop," Beastmon begged. She hung her head. "You're right, we were being selfish. Forgive us."

He turned back to her and the crow Digimon. "Then show your remorse by ceasing these attempts to destroy your own people, no matter how indirectly or unintentionally they may be."

Both Beastmon and Karatenmon bowed to him before turning to go back to their clans. The crow Digimon hesitated for a moment before grabbing Beastmon's wrist and pulling her back to him. He kissed her one last time, long and hard, before breaking away and disappearing into the trees. Beastmon stared after him, tears running down her cheeks. She wiped them away before she too took off for her clan, leaving the other four behind.

Grimmon sighed deeply, then turned to the teens. "I assume I don't need to tell you to keep this to yourselves unless you want a war."

Shoutmon nodded. "We understand. Don't we, guys?"

Kari looked away while TK sighed and nodded. "We'll keep quiet," he reluctantly agreed.

Kari shook her head. "It isn't fair."

"Many things in life aren't," Grimmon agreed. "But this needs to be done. Both the Ninjamon and the Kogamon have important roles to play as protectors of the sacred scroll."

Shoutmon raised an eyebrow. "What scroll?"

The reaper Digimon cocked his head to the side. "I thought you knew. Both the Kogamon and the Ninjamon guard one half of the sacred scroll. The two halves were kept separate by the two clans until a clan member tried to steal the others."

TK's brow furrowed. "Hey, now that you mention it, something was said about a scroll when Ninjamon and Kogamon were arguing over the pear."

"So which side tried to steal it?" Kari asked.

Grimmon shook his head. "That I do not know. Both halves of the scroll went missing. When the two clans found out, they sent out their warriors to find them. Eventually, they came across a Ninjamon and a Kogamon battling over both halves of the scroll. Each claimed that the other was responsible for the theft and that they were trying to stop them. Naturally, each clan took the side of their own member. During the argument, both of the accused were killed by the opposing clan. Thus began the great feud."

Shoutmon's eyebrows rose. "Oh, so _that's_ what started the feud. I actually never knew. Guess it's not surprising since these guys' honor was called into question." He looked at the teens. "They're very big on honor."

TK couldn't resist chuckling. "Ninjas tend to be. So what is this scroll?"

Grimmon's eyes narrowed. "You are very nosy, human. Why do you ask?"

TK held up his hands. "Just curious."

The reaper Digimon studied him for a few moments before relenting. "It was given to the two clans by Volcanusmon to guard. Supposedly, it contains the instructions on how to use mysterious keycards that unlock an ancient and terrible power."

Kari gasped. "Keycards?" She and TK shared a look. "Do you think…?"

He nodded. "The ones Darcmon was after. It's too much of a coincidence."

Shoutmon crossed his arms. "So the keycards were hidden somewhere in the city Argomon was attacking, and the two halves of the scroll explain how to use them to unleash this mysterious power. Interesting."

Grimmon was now eyeing them with interest. "So you know of the great power?"

"Distinctly."

"Then do you know of the one who knows the location of it?"

TK shook his head. "That we don't know."

The reaper Digimon continued to study him. "You humans are an interesting species. I'd like to learn more about you. My master would be most curious to learn about you as well."

"You mean Volcanusmon?" Kari asked. "I'd like to meet him too. I have a few choice words for him about arranged marriages."

Shoutmon burst out laughing. "You're going to scold _Volcanusmon_?" He shook his head "Oh, my poor, foolish, human. Let me tell you a little bit about Volcanusmon…"

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Davis could admit that he wasn't the smartest person around, and he did have a tendency to do things without thinking. And yes, sometimes he got in trouble because of it. This seemed like it was one of those times.

While he was normally a very heavy sleeper, all the food he had devoured at dinner was having a very unpleasant side affect on his stomach. He woke up and quickly made a run for the bathroom. And upon making his way back, he noticed that TK and Kari were missing from their futons; he failed to realize that Shoutmon was missing as well.

Of all the scenarios he could have come up with, the one that came to mind was the two of them going off for a late-night randevu. It sent his jealous side reeling as he imagined them walking together in the moonlight, holding hands and kissing.

"Ooh, that cheater," he quietly seethed. "Trying to get ahead of me like that. Kari is my girl!"

It was then that he decided to go look for them. And as he crept through the village, he just happened to catch Beastmon hop over the gate. She looked around before hiding behind a tree, obviously not wanting the Kogamon guards to see her.

But Davis had, and he walked up to her curiously as she kept a look out for guards. "You ok?"

Beastmon's fur stood on end and she whirled around, claws and fangs bared, ready to attack. She stopped when she saw who it was and relaxed. "You humans are good at sneaking up on people. You're the third one who caught me."

A smirk crept up his face. "What can I say? I'm a guy of many talents. Hey, wait. The third? Are you talking about Kari and TZ?"

Beastmon cocked her head to the side. "I thought his name was TK."

"It is. I was just… Never mind. Where are they?"

She nodded at the gate. "Still in the forest. I'm sure they'll fill you in. Please don't tell any of my people."

And with that, she took off. Davis stared after her, not completely understanding what had just happened. He looked at the gate. One thing was for sure, TK and Kari were out there. And with the image of the two of them out on a lake in a rowboat in the light of the full moon in his mind, he was not about to let the blonde boy one-up him.

That was how he now found himself lost in the woods. Definitely not his smartest move. Perhaps he should have thought this through a bit more before he had gone charging into the wilderness. Beastmon had said they were in the forest, but she hadn't said where, and these were _big_ woods.

Getting past the gate had been difficult, but no unmanageable. The guards had been more concerned with keeping people _out_ rather than keeping them in. It made him wonder how he was going to sneak back inside though. "If I ever find my way out of here."

It was too bad he didn't ask Beastmon how she had gotten in and out. If worse came to worse, he could just knock on the door. He would have to come up with a good excuse as to how and why he had snuck out though.

As he walked along, he heard what sounded like voices. Thinking he had found TK and Kari, he tiptoed his way towards the speaker. But as he got closer, he quickly realized that the voice didn't belong to either of his friends. It did sound vaguely familiar though.

He pushed aside some bushes and found Asuramon standing in a clearing. At first he thought the demon Digimon was talking to himself, but then he spotted a bat-like creature flying over him. A quick check on his Digivice told him that it was Soundbirdmon. It didn't look that strong, but it did look quite sinister. What was Asuramon doing secretly meeting with this creepy bird Digimon in the middle of the night?

' _Wait, if Asuramon is here, did I end up walking onto the Ninjamon's land? That's not good.'_

"Just three more days," the demon Digimon told his companion. "Once Beastmon and I are mated, I will get the Kogamon's half of the scroll and deliver it to your master."

Davis' face scrunched up. _'What scroll? And what is it with ninjas and scrolls? Or is that samurai?'_

"I trust," the demon Digimon continued, "that the master will keep his end of the bargain."

The bird Digimon fluttered closer. "Whether he does or not at this point is irrelevant. You made a deal with him. To go back on it now will be a great folly. All you can do is fulfill your end of the bargain and _hope_ he fulfills his. Fail, and see both the Ninjamon and the Kogamon wiped out, and you along with them." He fluttered back a bit. "But I will say this, he may fulfill his end of the deal simply for sport."

Asuramon grinned. "Then it will not be long before the Kogamon Clan is completely destroyed."

"Wha-" Davis cried, and immediately covered his mouth.

Both Asuramon and Soundbirdmon turned to him. "Someone spies!" the latter exclaimed.

Davis was in the process of slipping away when Asuramon leapt in the air towards his hiding place. With a flaming fist, he brought it down on the bush Davis was hiding behind, incinerating it and punching a crater in the ground.

"The human?" Asuramon growled.

Soundbirdmon hovered close by. "Destroy him you fool! He knows!"

"With pleasure."

Davis looked down between his legs. Asuramon's flaming fist between them. He backed away as the demon Digimon stood up straight, flexing his muscles, and the fire spread across his arms and shoulders. Davis yelped and held up his Digivice. _"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Paildramon!"_

Asuramon was surprised as the giant egg of Fractal Code burst open and Paildramon rammed into him. He pushed the demon Digimon back, breaking through trees, before he slammed him into the ground.

"Useless fool," Soundbirdmon growled and took off.

Paildramon looked up at him. "Not so fast, little birdie. _Cable Catcher!"_

He fired his claws on wires at him, but the bird Digimon outmaneuvered them. Asuramon sat up and slammed a flaming fist into Paildramon's gut. The dragon Digimon stumbled backwards, and Asuramon jumped to his feet. _"Asura Sweltering Fist!"_

He punched forward with all four fists, and a stream of fire flew from his knuckles. Paildramon held up his arms to defend himself, but it wasn't much help, nor was his armor. "Yeow! That is hot!"

"Finish him!" Soundbirdmon ordered, and began to fly away.

Paildramon glanced up at him. "Oh no you don't." He kicked out, catching Asuramon in the stomach, then took to the air. One of his guns raised, and he took aim at the bird Digimon. "I don't know who your master is, but give him this message."

He fired a single bullet. It flew at the bird Digimon much faster than it could fly. Soundbirdmon didn't even know it was under attack before its body burst into data. Paildramon snapped his fingers. "Boo-yah! Perfect shot!"

Something hot and tight wrapped around his ankle. He looked down to see that Asuramon had leapt into the air and grabbed him. The yellow eyes on all four masks glared at him. "You'll pay for that.

He yanked and somehow managed to pull the dragon Digimon out of the sky. The two fell to the ground, and Asuramon slammed him down hard enough to crack the ground apart. Paildramon groaned and kicked out, knocking the demon Digimon away from him, then fired his _Cable Catcher_. Asuramon leaned back, avoiding the cables.

As Asuramon straightened, Paildramon rolled onto his feet and threw an _Electric Bolt_ into the demon Digimon's face, causing him to stumble back. "How could you do this? You're breaking the No Hostilities Pact."

Asuramon chuckled as he waved away the smoke. "Am I? The No Hostilities Pact states that neither the Ninjamon Clan or the Kogamon Clan may attack one another unless it's in self defense. If another enemy comes along and wipes out the Kogamon, that's no fault of mine."

"It is if you made a deal to have that enemy attack them. And I thought this was a personal war, that you couldn't stand to have someone else defeat your enemies, which is why no outsiders were ever brought into your feud."

The demon Digimon grinned. "There are bigger things to worry about. I _will_ see the Kogamon Clan crushed. They're a bunch of dishonorable, underhanded, weaklings. They deserve to be wiped out."

Paildramon crossed his arms. "How can you call the Kogamon dishonorable or underhanded if you're doing the very thing that labels someone as such? You're nothing but a hypocrite."

A vein throbbed in Asuramon's temple. "Watch it, boy."

"You watch it. Why are you even doing this? Your two clans are on the verge of permanent peace. What do you think your people will do when they find out what you've done?"

The grin returned to the demon Digimon's face. "They'll rejoice. Rejoice that the Kogamon have finally fallen. Don't fool yourself into thinking that either the Ninjamon or the Kogamon are happy with this arrangement. Our clans no longer fighting is very different from being at peace with each other. I could never allow it. Yet it seems that the more time passes, the less inclined our two clans are to continue this feud. I won't stand for it. Peace with the Kogamon makes me sick! I won't defy Volcanusmon's will and break the No Hostilities Pact, but I won't stand for peace either."

A feeling of unease went through Paildramon. He had never seen such raw hatred before. "And what about Beastmon, your intended?"

Asuramoin raised a fist, squeezing tightly. "I will ruin her. Once we're mated and I get the Kogamon's half of the scroll, I will defile her and break her spirit completely."

Paildramon had heard enough. "I don't know what this scroll is, but I won't let you do whatever you want. _Electric Bolt!"_

Asuramon's flaming fist shot out, blasting apart Paildramon's attack. He fired his _Asura Sweltering Fist_ , and Paildramon took to the air. He flew towards the demon Digimon, firing his _Desperado Blaster._ Asuramon's four arms covered his head as the spray of bullets showered against him. Paildramon lashed out with his _Sting Strike_ , but one of Asuramion's arms shot out and grabbed his lance.

Smirking, he bent the dragon Digimon's arm the wrong way and twisted it behind his back. Then with his remaining three arms, he fired his _Asura Exploding Fist_ , punching with all three fists at the same time while shooting a stream of fire from them upon contact.

Paildramon was blasted backwards. He crashed into a tree, knocking it over. A moment later, Asuramon landed on top of him, pinning him down with two of his arms while the other two flexed their muscles. _"Fire Fist of Shiva!"_

His fists ignited and began slamming into Paildramon's face over and over again. The dragon Digimon tried to fight him off, but was unable to, and soon his struggles ceased. Asuramon continued to rain flaming punches against him until he began glowing and reverted back to his human form.

Asuramon stood up, looming over the unconscious boy. "So you can become a Digimon, but you turn back into a human when you run out of energy. What a strange creature." His gaze shifted to the Digivice in Davis' hand, and he picked it up. "This is the source of your power? Interesting. I'll have to take a look at it later." One of his fists ignited, and he looked back down at him. "It's a shame you had to get involved, but it's your own fault. Now it's time to die."

"Asuramon!"

He turned as the speaker flew down, his eye narrowing. "Karatenmon, why are you here?"

The crow Digimon didn't miss a beat. "I was patrolling the area and heard the fight. What are you doing here?"

Asuramon scowled. "I am the future leader of the Ninjamon. I will go wherever I wish, and you, a mere guest in our clan since you had the gall to break our laws and Digivolve, have no right to question me. As for the human," he looked down at Davis, "he was trespassing. A guest of the Kogamon was sneaking around our lands at night, most likely spying for the Kogamon. I simply defended our land. Now, if you'll excuse me."

He raised his flaming fist to deliver the finishing blow, but Karatenmon stopped him. "No, he is defenseless. We do not kill those who can't defend themselves, it is not our way."

The demon Digimon glared at him. "You dare to lecture me on the ways of the Ninjamon? You who deliberately broke them in the hopes that the leader would view you as a more worthy heir than the one he had already chosen and trained for many years? You're lucky he's letting you stay until the mating ceremony instead of having kicked you out as soon as you Digivolved like he should have."

He pointed an accusing finger at the crow Digimon. "Don't think I don't know the reason for it. It's not so much for the role of leadership, but for the Kogamon heir. You love her! You should be ashamed of yourself for feeling anything for a member of the Kogamon Clan other than hatred and disgust."

Karatenmon winced. "This and that are unrelated. The humans are guests of the Kogamon, and are unrelated to our feud. Hold him captive if you will until the proper action can be done, but to kill him when he's defenseless, would you really dishonor our clan so?"

A cloud of steam escaped Asuramon's nose as he breathed out. "You want to see real dishonor? I will show it to you."

He lunged at the crow Digimon, throwing a flaming fist. Karatenmon half flipped, half flew into the air, dodging the attack, and landing beside Davis' unconscious form. He pulled out his swords, pointing them at Asuramon challengingly. The demon Digimon turned to him, his fists igniting.

Before a fight could break out, movement in the trees drew their attention. Several Ninjamon appeared in the clearing, surrounding the two of them. Among them was the clan leader, who looked from Asuramon to Karatenmon to Davis, his eyes narrowing. "What is going on here?"

Asuramon glared at Katartenmon. "I caught this human trespassing on our lands, and dealt with him appropriately."

Karatenmon put away his swords. "It's true, sir. I arrived just as he was about to take the human prisoner so you could decide on the best coarse of action; as is your right as our leader." He gave the demon Digimon a hard look. "Isn't that right, Asuramon? You were about to turn the boy over to our _leader_."

Asuramon's scowl deepened, but he couldn't very well tell the leader he was not about to do what honor dictated that he must, especially after Karatenmon stated he had been about to do what was expected of him. "Yes, that is correct."

The leader looked at Davis. "I see. Very good. Bind him and bring him along. I will deal with this in the morning."

The Ninjamon moved in and bound and gaged the boy. Asuramon watched as they dragged him away, the flames slowly extinguishing in his hands. His eyes narrowed at Karatenmon's retreating form. The crow Digimon stopped and glanced back at him. The two stared at each other for a few moments before the group continued back to the village.

 **(A/N: Pretty intense, huh? Looks like TK, Kari, and Shoutmon have made a pretty surprising discovery. It's the cliché star-crossed lover scenario. It's not just** _ **Basilisk**_ **, it's** _ **Romeo & Juliet**_ **. Poor Beastmon and Karatenmon. But that's not the only thing going on. Davis has made a startling discovery of his own. Asuramon is up to something that could mean the end for the Kogamon. And what of these scrolls and their relation to the keycards Darcmon was after? I told you we haven't heard the last of them. But now Davis has gone and gotten himself caught. Geez, stuck in a clan feud with a forbidden romance while a conspiracy is going on, things are not looking up for our heroes. Now, since I know this chapter was a bit confusing, I decided to create a bit of a timeline. See below.)**

 **{Thousands of years ago, Volcanusmon entrusted one half of the scroll explaining how to use the keycards to the Ninjamon Clan, and the other half to the Kogamon Clan.**

 **5,000 years ago, the scrolls were stolen, either by someone from the Ninjamon Clan or someone from the Kogamon Clan. Both suspects accused the other and were killed by the opposing clans, thus beginning the feud.**

 **2,700 years ago, a male Ninjamon and a female Kogamon fall in love despite the war between their clans, and they begin meeting in secret.**

 **1,000 years ago, Volcanusmon installs the No Hostilities Pact to stop the war. The fighting stops, but the feud remains. Volcanusmon declares that the two clan leaders are to chose heirs to take over in the hopes that new leadership will end the feud. The Kogamon that would become Beastmon is chosen, as is the Ninjamon that would become Asuramon, and the two begin to be trained to be the new leaders.**

 **At some point, the Kogamon heir is killed by an evil Digimon. After she was reborn, during her time of trying to Digivolve to Kogamon again, she becomes best friends DarkLizardmon.**

 **772 years ago, the Kogamon heir returns to her clan. In order for her and DarkLizardmon to stay together, they DNA Digivolve together to become Beastmon. Despite breaking the no Digivolving law, an exception is made since she had already gone through several centuries of training to become the new Kogamon leader. Volcanusmon decides that an "outside source" would do the clans some good, and decrees that the Ninjamon heir shall DNA Digivolve with someone too. The Ninjamon heir DNA Digivolves with a Garurumon to become Asuramon.**

 **Volcanusmon decides that Beastmon and Asuramon shall become a mated pair when they take over leadership to cement the peace between the clans.**

 **The Ninjamon that was in love with the Kogamon that became Beastmon hopes to prove himself to be a more worthy heir than Asuramon so he can be with Beastmon, and he trains until he Digivolves to Karatenmon. His attempt fails, and only gets him in trouble for breaking the no Digivolving law. He's granted permission to stay with his clan until the mating ceremony so he can see his clan at peace before being banished.**

 **Volcanusmon sends Grimmon to act as a mediator to maintain the peace between the two clans until the mating ceremony. Beastmon and Karatenmon continue to see each other in secret while Asuramon secretly makes plans with Soundbirdmon's master to destroy the Kogamon Clan in exchange for the scrolls.}**

 **(Well, I hope that cleared up any confusion about the plot. If you're eager for more, leave me a review, and I'll be back with a new chapter soon. Soon as in the standard two weeks soon.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear, or are mentioned. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Soundbirdmon**


	59. Chapter 59: Wedding Preparations

**(A/N: The chapters in this arc are turning out to be pretty long. Cool! This chapter might require some more explaining in the Author's Note again to fully understand the backstory. Time to see how a Digimon wedding takes place.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 59: Wedding Preparations**

Davis groaned as he awoke to a world of pain. His body, especially his jaw, ached terribly, but it was nothing compared to the pounding in his head. Did he have a hangover? Was this what it felt like? But he didn't drink. Did he? Had something he drank at the feast last night contained alcohol without him knowing? He didn't think so.

Food poisoning then? Or maybe he just ate way too much. That seemed like the most likely scenario. _'Note to self, never party that hard again.'_

He attempted to rub his head, but found he couldn't move his hands. No, he could move them, they were just bound behind his back. And what was worse, when he opened his eyes, he found himself behind bars.

"Hey, what gives?" he shouted, or at least he tried to. His mouth was gagged as well, and only muffled grunts came out.

"And so he awakens."

Davis froze. He looked around the dark room for the familiar voice. Asuramon stepped into the light, leering at him from the other side of the bars. Davis glared right back as he remembered what had happened before he had been beaten into unconsciousness.

"You're lucky you're not inside your Digi-Egg right now," Asuramon told him, "or wherever you humans come from."

Davis rolled his eyes. This guy clearly knew nothing about humans. In a way, that was a good thing; Digimon tended to underestimate them because of it. If he could just reach his Digivice…

Bending his bound arms the best he could, he felt around for his Digivice on his belt, but couldn't find it anywhere. Asuramon noticed his movement and held up the Digivice. "Looking for this?" By the look on the boy's face, the answer was yes. He looked at the Digivice curiously. "Quite a fascinating device."

Davis muffled something behind his gag. Asuramon glanced at him and smirked. "I assume you're asking why I'm doing this. Isn't that always the case?" He set the Digivice down on the table. "Simply put, I can't stand the Kogamon. To think that the great Volcanusmon held both of our clans in equal regard that he would entrust the scroll to both of us. That honor should have belonged to the Ninjamon alone. I tried to prove that by taking their half of the scroll many years ago, but was stopped by one of those lousy Kogamon, and our clans found us before I could kill him."

He grinned evilly. "I suppose my failed attempt to get both scrolls was a good thing; it caused the hate to begin between our clans. Accusing the Kogamon who fought me of the theft and then killing him in front of the clan was the icing on the cake, even though I knew it would cost me my life, but it cemented the hatred between us."

His grin became a scowl. "After I was reborn and reached the Ninjamon stage again, I returned to my clan, fully expecting them to have won the war that was sure to have started. Instead I discovered that though the war had raged on for many years, Volcanusmon had eventually stepped in and instilled the No Hostilities Pact. I admit, I did not see that coming, and was forced to endure this so-called truce between our clans. I was pleased, however, when Volcanusmon later decreed that a new leader was to be chosen in the hopes to lessen the animosity between us, and the leader chose me."

Davis struggled in a vain attempt to get out of his bonds, glaring at the demon Digimon. Asuramon just chuckled. "Yes, that was fortunate. Even more so when the Kogamon heir DNA Digivolved with her friend, making Volcanusmon decree that I was to do the same. It seemed that sending that Digimon to kill the Kogamon heir worked out well for me. Even Volcanusmon's decree that we were to be mates worked in my favor. It allowed me to make an alliance with someone willing to wipe out the Kogamon in exchange for the scrolls. I could get rid of their whole clan without breaking the No Hostilities Pact.

"Once the mating ceremony is done, I can get my hands on the Kogamon's half of the scroll with no issue. And once I turn over both halves to my ally, they will wipe out the Kogamon." His fists clenched, and he seemed to be practically bursting with excitement. "It's been so long, I can hardly wait."

Eyes flashing, Davis rolled over and thrust his feet at the bars. Asuramon sneered at his vain attempt to escape. "You won't be going anywhere or saying anything to anyone. The only reason I didn't kill you before is because Karatenmon interfered. You're to remain here until after the mating ceremony. But at that point, it'll be too late. I'll obtain the Kogamon's half of the scroll, and my ally will wipe out them and your friends. You'll follow shortly after." He turned away. "So struggle all you want if it makes you feel better. It won't be long now."

He laughed as he exited the room, leaving Davis tied, gagged, and behind bars. He continued kicking at his cell door, but it was useless, and he soon gave up. Scooting back over to the wall, he propped up against it and tried to think of a plan. He looked around his cell for anything he could use, but found nothing. Anything useful was on the outside of the bars.

Including his Digivice!

It was still there on the table. Asuramon hadn't taken it with him. If he could get that, he could get out of here in no time; considering it still had power after the beating he took. The only question was, how did he get it?

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"Slow down," said Tai as his sister quickly recounted what she, TK, and Shoutmon had witnessed the previous night. "Who's in love now?

"Beastmon and Karatenmon," Kari told him in a loud whisper. "They've been in love for nearly three thousand years, but have been kept apart because of the feud."

"Ooook," said Takato. "And Karatenmon is that crow Digimon that arrived with Ninjamon yesterday?"

TK nodded. "Apparently, when he found out that the heir to the Ninjamon Clan was allowed to Digivolve to Ultimate, he Digivolved too in the hopes that since he was able to reach Ultimate without having to DNA Digivolve with someone else that the Ninjamon leader would view him as a more worthy heir."

"And thus allowing him to be Beastmon's mate instead," Takuya surmised.

Tai crossed his arms. "But instead he just got in trouble for breaking the no Digivolving rule and will be banished from the village once the mating ceremony is over. Got it."

Kari slapped her hands down on the table they were sitting at. "We have to do something to help them."

Shoutmon shook his head. "Why won't you listen to me and Grimmon and stay out of it? This is bigger than us, and it's not something that can be solved in battle. This is when politics needs to be used. This feud has to end, and Volcanusmon's plan, while not perfect, will put an end to it. Is that not worth it?"

TK tapped his chin. "What if we spoke to the Ninjamon and Kogamon leaders and explain things?"

Grimmon, who was also in the room, slid closer. "To what end? It'll only make the situation that much more complicated, and the two clans will grow that much more bitter towards each other. It is Volcanusmon's wish to end things as peacefully as possible, and I will see it done; I owe him that."

Kari looked at him. While still very intimidating and not always agreeable, Grimmon did seem to want the situation to be resolved with as little bloodshed as possible. From what he had told them, being a reaper Digimon, and a Virus type at that, he was once not a very nice person, until Volcanusmon showed him there was another way aside from a life of violence, and thus he chose to follow the Mega Digimon's teachings.

"Maybe we can convince the Ninjamon leader to make Karatenmon his new heir," she suggested.

"And throw away the hundreds of years of leadership training Asuramon has already received just to make the enemy's heir happy?" Grimmon asked, skeptically. "He would never go for it. Nor would Asuramon."

Kari tried to think of an alternative. "Then what about having the Kogamon leader choose another heir. Then Beastmon and Karatenmon can leave the clan and be together."

"Same problem," Tai pointed out regretfully. "Kogamon wouldn't just throw away all of Beastmon's training. It's why she was allowed to stay DNA Digivolved with DarkLizardmon to begin with, remember? Besides, as much as Beastmon loves Karatenmon, I doubt she'll be selfish enough to abandon her duties and her people like that." He gave his sister a sorrowful look. "I'm sorry, Kari, but I really don't think there is anything we can do this time."

She shook her head. "I won't accept that. I can't."

Grimmon pointed at her. "And I won't have you sabotaging this. I am under orders to make sure the Kogamon and the Ninjamon don't kill each other before the mating ceremony. Interfere, and the two might go to war. We talked about this last night. I won't have you ruining this chance for peace. I've seen to much bloodshed, caused too much. Now I'm making amends. I won't let there be anymore violence than there needs to be."

"I hate to say, but I agree with him," said Shoutmon.

Tai nodded. "I don't like it either, Kari, but I don't see an alternative."

Her shoulders slumped. "But it's not fair."

"Many things in life aren't," Shoutmon told her. "I understand that better than anyone."

Takato looked up at the ceiling. "My parents used to say that fair isn't getting what you want; it's getting what you need."

Kari frowned. "Everyone needs love."

They fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts. The silence was soon interrupted by a commotion outside. It drew the group's attention, and they went outside to investigate. They found the Kogamon all rushing to the gate in a fashion similar to when the Ninjamon had come yesterday."

Takuya stopped a random Kogamon. "Hey, what's going on?"

The ninja Digimon barely glanced at him. "It's the Ninjamon. They're coming back again."

Grimmon's eyes narrowed as the Kogamon hurried off. "Again? What for? Karatenmon better not have been discovered."

He flew off to go see. The teens exchanged uneasy looks, feeling a sense of déjà vu. These confrontations between the clans was putting them on edge.

"Better go wake Davis," said Tai. "We'll need him to be ready in case things get ugly."

"I'll get him," Takato replied, taking off for their sleeping quarters. He came back out a few seconds later, looking confused. "He's not in there."

Tai looked surprised. "What? I didn't see him come out. Did any of you?"

"He must have gotten up before us."

TK's eyebrows rose. "Really? Wow, that's a first." He looked around. "Then where is he?"

It was a good question, but one they couldn't worry about at the moment. Asuramon and the Ninjamon leader were waiting outside the Kogamon village with yet another army of Ninjamon. The Kogamon leader and Beastmon went out to meet him, the latter looking around hopefully for Karatenmon, who was absent, while the former just looked angry. "This trespassing on our land is becoming quite bothersome."

The Ninjamon leader crossed his arms. "This is our parley, same as before. Although I can certainly relate to having an enemy trespass on your land."

Kogamon pointed at him. "No Kogamon has set foot on your land."

"Perhaps not." His eyes shifted to the teens. "But your guests have."

Tai blinked. "What?"

"I caught one of your friends snooping around on our land in the middle of the night," Asuramon growled.

This was a surprise to the teens. "Davis was?" Takuya asked in disbelief.

"He even engaged in battle with my heir," the Ninjamon leader told them.

Kari frowned. "Davis wouldn't do that. He may be hot-headed and reckless, but he wouldn't pick a fight without cause."

"Usually," Shoutmon grumbled quietly.

Asuramon's eyes narrowed. "So you say, but he did. He is now our prisoner."

Kogamon placed his hands on his hips. "And now you've come to demand a ransom. This sounds very much like you are trying to provoke us to fight, which is a clear violation of the No Hostilities Pact."

"There will be no ransom or bargaining," Ninjamon insisted. "At the suggestion of my heir, he is to remain our prisoner until after the mating ceremony to make sure he doesn't cause any more trouble. We just came to tell you that."

"You can't do that!" TK snapped.

"But we can," Asuramon insisted. "He trespassed and picked a fight. He is lucky all we are doing is detaining him. You can have him back once the mating ceremony is over. Until then, we don't trust him or you humans not to stick your noses in where it doesn't belong."

Tai looked at the only one he hoped could talk some sense into them. "Grimmon?"

The reaper Digimon flew forward. "As a neutral party under the orders of Volcanusmon to see this feud come to a peaceful end, would you be willing to turn him over to me if I were to agree to keep an eye on him?"

Asuramon gave him a hard look. "Under the circumstances, we believe it would be in everyone's best interest if he were to remain in our custody until this is over. For peaceful purposes. I'm sure you understand."

The two stared at each other for several long moments. Finally, Grimmon flew back over to the teens. "I am sorry about your friend, but he does have a point. Tensions are high, and this would be the best solution. The Ninjamon are honorable; your friend will be treated fairly. It's only for three more days, then he will be released to you."

The teens looked at Shoutmon, but the dragon Digimon held up his hands. "I told you guys repeatedly not to get involved with this, but you didn't listen. Now look what's happened."

Tai sighed and looked back at Ninjamon. "You're not willing to negotiate on this?"

The ninja Digimon crossed his arms. "Our decision is final."

"How about we stay with him," TK suggested. "You can 'keep and eye' on all of us."

This time Kogamon spoke. "We would never allow our guests to be prisoners to the Ninjamon Clan, especially for no reason."

"Nor would we take prisoners that have not done anything wrong," Ninjamon agreed. His eyes narrowed. "And we will not invite potential spies into our village either."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Tai grumbled in aggravation. It seemed they were in a no win situation. He didn't want to leave Davis, but it seemed the Ninjamon were not willing to bend. True, they could free Davis themselves if they chose to use force, but how many unnecessary deaths would that cause. Not to mention it would destroy any hope for peace between the two clans. What had Davis been thinking in snooping around the Ninjamon's territory? _'Shoutmon was right, we should have just stayed out of it.'_

The dragon Digimon in question tugged on his pants leg. "If you want to take my advice, just let it go. Enough trouble has been caused already. The Ninjamon are offering us an easy out with no bloodshed. Davis will be well treated and released unharmed in three days. Trust me, this is the best solution. Just think of this as a much needed break from the guy."

Tai couldn't resist the small smile that threatened to creep up his face. He considered the situation carefully before looking back at Ninjamon. "Do you swear on your honor that he will be treated well and won't be harmed?"

"Tai!" Kari cried in outrage.

"You're not seriously thinking of leaving him there, are you?" Takato demanded.

"Shouldn't we talk about this?" asked TK.

Tai ignored them. "Do you swear it, on your clan's honor?"

Ninjamon nodded. "My heir will see to his needs personally."

"He is my captive," the demon Digimon told them. "I will take responsibility for him."

Grimmon swiped one of the weapons that served as a hand through the air. "Then an agreement has been reached. Now, return to your village."

Ninjamon bowed his head to him in departure, and he and the rest of his clan pulled out, disappearing into the forest. Beastmon watched them go, her ears drooping at not having seen Karatenmon. The Kogamon hesitantly went back inside. Grimmon went with them, pausing to glance at Tai. "I know it wasn't an easy decision, but it was the best one."

"Was it?" Takuya asked uncertainly. "It doesn't feel like it."

"Listen," Shoutmon grumbled, "when there's this much hatred and you're trying to play peacekeeper, sometimes all you can do is pick the lesser of two evils, and that's what you did."

TK looked to where the Ninjamon had disappeared to. "Did we? It feels like we hung him out to dry."

The Kogamon leader walked over to them. "Do not worry for your friend. If he has been harmed or mistreated in any way, I will deal with the Ninjamon personally; peace or no."

It was a small reassurance, but not much. They were all worried for their friend, but there was nothing more that they could do short of storming and tearing apart the Ninjamon village. And if they did that, then neither clan would ever know peace.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

In the days that followed, there were no more incidents. The teens did nothing to stop the wedding preparations or free Davis, worried that they might make the situation even worse. None of them were happy about it, but there was nothing to be done.

Even the excitement of the wedding was gone now that they knew it was not only an arranged, but the bride was also a star-crossed lover. Had the teens not become just as adamant as Grimmon to see peace, they would have left already and had Davis released.

The three days passed quickly enough, and soon the day of the event had arrived. Despite the situation, the teens were still rather curious as to what a Digimon wedding would be like.

"It's not a wedding," Shoutmon insisted. "It's a mating ceremony."

"Same difference," said Tai. "It's just different terminology."

Kari looked around the village. "You know, for a wed… I mean, mating ceremony, this place doesn't look that festive."

"Maybe they don't consider this wedding to be something to celebrate," Takuya half-joked.

Shoutmon sighed. "It's not a wedding, it's-"

"We think of it as a wedding, so we're calling it a wedding."

It turned out that the ceremony wouldn't even be taking place in either village, but in a nearby town a few miles away. Everyone had woken up bright and early to make the journey. The Kogamon leader, Beastmon, and nine other Kogamon were going along with the teens and Grimmon. Likewise, the Ninjamon leader, Asuramon, and nine other Ninjamon were to be present at the ceremony as well, and the two groups met in front of what seemed to be a sanctuary.

Out front, they were greeted by three Digimon. One the teens recognized as Candlemon, like the ones they saw back in the caves of Infinity Mountain. Another one was a Digimon with a slice of cake for a head, the Digimon Analyzer indicating that they were Shortmon, a Rookie level cake Digimon. The third was a cake Digimon as well, a Champion called Weddinmon, who appeared to be a woman wearing a wedding cake like a dress.

"Greetings!" she cried happily as the groups approached. "I'm Weddinmon, your mating ceremony party planner! My little friends here and I have a _fabulous_ feast and a _glorious_ reception for you as soon as the two lucky ones are mated!"

Takato sweat-dropped. "Well, she certainly seems like she enjoys her job."

Beastmon ignored the enthusiastic cake Digimon as her eyes scanned the group of Ninjamon, finding the leader and her intended, but not the one she really wanted to see. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not; seeing him one last time might break her resolve.

TK couldn't help but notice that someone else was missing too. "Where's Davis? Shouldn't he be here?"

The Nijnjamon leader waved this off. "He's still at our village. Once the ceremony is over, we'll escort you back there, then you and your friend can leave."

Tai sighed. "Fine. How is he?"

Asuramon crossed his arms. "He is well. I have been taking care of him." He turned to Beastmon, a toothy smile creeping up his mouth. "You look ravishing, my dear. I could just eat you up."

She just looked away and didn't say anything. A few moments later, the sanctuary doors opened and two more Digimon came out. They looked like human children dressed as nuns, the older looking one wearing black, the younger looking one wearing white and pink.

"Greetings," they said together. "We shall be ready for you shortly."

Kari cupped her cheeks. "Aww, they're so cute! Who are they?"

Tai checked his Digivice. "The black one is Sistermon Noir, a Champion, and the white one is Sistermon Blanc, a Rookie."

Takato glanced at Shoutmon curiously. "Er, Noir and Blanc?"

The dragon Digimon sighed. "Are we going to go through this every time a Digimon has a unique name? They're just a subspecies of the same Digimon. Don't look too much into it."

From behind the two nun Digimon, a large angel Digimon exited the sanctuary. He greatly resembled MagnaAngemon, but was dressed in pure white robes, and rather than eight silvery white wings curving around his body, he had two very large pure white wings that looked like they belonged to a true angel spread out behind him almost like a cape.

Takuya whistled. "Now that's an angel. Uh," he glanced at TK and Kari, "no offense."

"None taken," said TK, checking his Digivice. "MagnaAngemon Priest Mode, Ultimate level." He gave Shoutmon a curious look. "What's Priest Mode? Do I have that?"

The dragon Digimon wobbled his hand. "As a MagnaAngemon, it's in your code. It all depends on whether or not you can access it, same as different Digivolutions."

"But what is Priest Mode?" Takuya asked.

"A different Mode. I've told you about Mode Changing before."

Grimmon took over. "Mode Changing is when a Digimon changes their form without Digivolving. This change could include getting stronger or faster, switching attributes, changing elements, or making other modifications."

Shoutmon nodded. "Yeah, what he said." He motioned to the angel Digimon. "He's still MagnaAngemon, but he's not as strong in this form, has less attacks, and is a pacifist by nature. H's more about purifying evil that fighting it."

TK stared at the Mode Change of his Digimon form. "This feels kind of weird to see another MagnaAngemon, even if it is in Priest Mode."

Kari nodded. "I had a similar feeling when I fought BlackGreymon, only it was even weirder since he was bad."

MagnaAngemon looked at the crowd and spread his arms. "Good day to you all. I am glad your clans have resolved their differences. I hope and pray for peaceful times for you all."

"Peace for all!" the two Sistermon chanted.

The angel Digimon motioned them forward. "Now then, come, enter, and we shall begin the ceremony."

He turned and went back inside the sanctuary, the two Sistermon following close behind. The Kogamon and Ninjamon did as well, glaring at each other with open hostility. Asuramon walked over to Beastmon, staring down at her intimidatingly. "Are you ready, my dear?"

Beastmon looked around some more. "Is Karatenmon not coming?"

"He has not been a member of our clan since he Digivolved, and thus has no place here. He is guarding the human in my absence." He leaned in and lowered his voice. "Do not fret, I will show you the true spirit of the Ninjamon Clan."

She shuddered, and not in a good way, putting distance between herself and him. He just chuckled and stepped inside the sanctuary. Beastmon seemed reluctant to enter, but the Kogamon leader came up to her. "It is time. This is Volcanusmon's will."

She took a deep breath. "I know. He has never steered us wrong before. I will do it." She looked at the other Kogamon. "For my clan."

The large golden doors closed behind them as they all entered the sanctuary, or was it a church? Inside, there were pews that ran down an aisle. On the walls, there was an alteration of a stained glass window and a statue carved into the wall, each one a duplicate of the other. The statues resembled a divine being with the lower body of a diamond holding twin diamond blades. The stained glass windows were all the same as well, consisting of what looked like a bizarre robot in front of a tree. The pattern of the statue and windows went all the way down the aisle.

The ceiling contained a large circle divided into four quarters. Each quarter had the silhouette of a beast. The one on top was that of a green turtle, the one on the right was that of a blue dragon, the one on the bottom was that of a red bird, and the one on the left was that of a white cat. And hanging down from the ceiling were what appeared to be giant diamonds or crystals.

At the end of the aisle by the alter, there was another stained glass window, much larger than any of the others. It was the white silhouette of a humanoid figure standing in front of a castle with a multicolored background. An upside-down star was before the humanoid shape, the ends where the points met glowing. The white humanoid silhouette looked very human, but was not quite the right shape.

On either side of the stained glass window were two more statues, an angel on the left, and a godly being on the right. These two statues were carved out of solid gold rather than marble like the others running down the aisle.

Even the floor had a design on it, containing the pixelated image of a golden Digimon, and the teens looked around at it and the rest of the sanctuary in awe. "Wow," said Takato, "this place could rival the Sistine Chapel."

"I have no idea what that is," Shoutmon replied as he took a seat.

TK looked from the statues, to the ceiling, to the stained glass windows. "So what's all this then?"

The dragon Digimon rolled his eyes. "Geez, you humans are forgetful. Etemon and I explained all this to you. Those crystals," he pointed to the ones hanging from the ceiling, "they're replicates of Homeostasis, the crystal shards the Digimon God programmed with different portions of his consciousness. One was placed into the avatar body of King Drasil," he motioned to the statues running down the aisle, "which was then placed into the host computer, Yggdrasil_7D6, which dwelled in the Server Tree." He pointed to the stained glass windows beside the statues of King Drasil.

Tai nodded. "Yeah, I remember you mentioning that. And then an evil Digimon took over Yggdrasil, but was chased away by those closest to the Digimon God. This caused Yggdrasil to malfunction, so those Digimon were forced to destroy both it and King Drasil."

Shoutmon nodded. "And then the Digimon God recalled the Homeostasis that was inside King Drasil, along with all the others in the Digital World, and went to his own realm within the Digital World's kernel to give us Digimon free reign, but left those closest to him to be the Digimon Sovereigns, and then selected a single Digimon to be the Digimon King." He pointed to the four silhouettes on the ceiling. "Those are the Sovereigns. And that," he pointed to the pixelated image of the golden Digimon on the floor, "is me."

The teens' attention shifted from the ceiling to the floor. They looked at the golden Digimon, then at Shoutmon, who was beaming proudly, and burst out laughing. The dragon Digimon's red face turned a darker shade as he blushed. "Stop laughing!"

Takato wiped away a tear. "Sorry, Shoutmon, we couldn't help it." He nodded at the giant stained glass window behind the alter. "And who's that?"

It was Grimmon who answered. "Who is that? Who is that?! It's only the Digimon God!"

Tai cocked his head to the side. "Really? He kind of looks like a human."

"Ha! A human? Don't be absurd. He may be depicted as human in imagery, but he actually hates human interference, which is why the Digital World is sealed off from the human world."

Kari blinked. "Then how and why are we here?"

Shoutmon shrugged. "One of the many questions we can ask Cherubimon."

TK tapped his chin. "I used to think that it was the Digimon God that brought us here, but if he doesn't like human interfering with the Digital World, and he himself no longer interferes with its affairs, then someone else must have brought us here."

"Couldn't say. We'll ask Cherubimon when we get there."

Takuya looked up at the two golden statues on either side of the stained glass window of the Digimon God. "So who are they?"

"Geez, you humans are inquisitive," Grimmon grumbled.

Shoutmon snorted. "Welcome to my world."

MagnaAngemon cleared his throat. "If I could please have your silence, I would like to get started."

The teens quickly took their seats as everyone else got into position. The ceremony was about to begin.

 **(A/N: So, we got a lot of insight on things. The sanctuary depicts the, I guess you could say, governing of the Digital World, but we'll get into more of that later. The wedding, I mean, mating ceremony, is about to take pace, and it doesn't look like anyone can stop it. Or maybe someone can? Will Davis be able to make a miraculous escape? He's already made another startling discovery. In case you didn't catch it, Asuramon, back when he was still a Ninjamon, was the one who stole the two halves of the scroll and blamed it on the Kogamon that caught him before killing him, thus beginning the feud. Now he's planning on mating Beastmon so he can once again obtain the scrolls to give to his ally in exchange for wiping out the Kogamon. Ooh, big conspiracy going on. What's Davis going to do with this knowledge? Will he be able to save the day? Stay tuned to find out.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear or are mentioned. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) below with actual periods.**

 **wikimon** _DOT_ **net/Holy_Angemon:_Priest_Mode**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Candlemon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Shortmon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Weddinmon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Sistermon#Sistermon_Blanc**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/#Sistermon_Noir**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/God**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Homeostasis**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Yggdrasil**

 **wikimon** _DOT_ **net/Yggdrasill_7D6**

 **wikimon** _DOT_ **net/Yggdrasill_Core**

 **wikimon** _DOT_ **net/Homeostasis**

 **wikimon** _DOT_ **net/God**


	60. Chapter 60: Forever Hold Your Peace

**(A/N: Hello, people. I hope you all had a happy 4th. So before we et started, I want to clear up any possible confusion that may occur. Last chapter, we were introduced to MagnaAngemon Priest Mode. In order to avoid confusion, when TK Spirit Evolves to MagnaAngemon, I will be referring to MagnaAngemon Priest Mode as MagnaAngemon PM.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 60: Forever Hold Your Peace**

Davis was both hungry and thirsty. He'd hardly eaten anything in the three days since his capture; Asuramon had only stopped by once a day to remove his gag just long enough to shovel a few scraps of food in his mouth. As for water, there was a bucket full of it, but the only way he could get a drink was to stick his head in it and suck out the water his gag absorbed.

Asuramon clearly didn't care about his wellbeing beyond making it look like he was being cared for, but that was only for show. He had clearly said that he was going to kill him and his friends once the Kogamon had been wiped out, so taking care of Davis hadn't exactly been his number one priority. Heck, the guy hadn't even let him go to the bathroom, forcing Davis to hold it in until he couldn't any longer; that was a secret he would be taking to his grave.

At least there was one good thing about practically starving; he didn't have to use the bathroom in _that_ way.

He had only seen Asuramon once today. The demon Digimon had stopped by to tell him that today was the big day, the day of the mating ceremony. By the end of it, he would have both halves of the scroll, and his allies' minions would wipe out the Kogamon.

That had been hours ago. Davis hadn't seen Asuramon since. Instead, that crow Digimon, Karatenmon, had been guarding him, having been ordered by Asuramon to not remove Davis' gag or enter his cell under any circumstances. That certainly didn't stop Davis from trying to communicate with him. Aside from Asuramon, Karatenmon was the only other Digimon Davis had seen since his capture, and he had tried everything he could to get the crow Digimon's attention. Unfortunately, Karatenmon had continued to ignore him the entire time.

As the hours ticked by, Davis couldn't help but notice that Karatenmon was clearly agitated. Something was clearly wrong. He almost looked like he was in physical pain, and seemed to be holding himself back. He was leaning against the wall, eyes closed, a bead of sweat running down his forehead. His teeth were clenched together tightly, and he was trembling, his hands gripping the hilt of his swords as if he wanted nothing more than to pull them out of their sheaths and slice something to pieces.

Davis wondered what was wrong, and decided to once again try and get his attention, but the crow Digimon continued to ignore his struggles and the muffled words that managed to slip past his gag. But as he tried to speak, he could see that Karatenmon was getting more and more agitated. This gave Davis the idea to annoy a reaction out of him, and he began to emit a loud continuous hum from behind his gag, pausing only to take a breath when he ran out of air.

"Will you be quiet!" Karatenmon finally snapped, still not looking at him. "It'll be over soon. Then you and your friends can leave, and the Ninjamon and Kogamon will finally have peace."

Oh, there would be peace alright, because the Kogamon would be gone. Perhaps Asuramon was right and the Ninjamon would be happier and prefer that rather than true peace between the clans, but he needed to at least tell someone, and the crow Digimon was his only hope.

But Karatenmon went right back to ignoring him. So Davis took to kicking against the bars. This got no reaction from the crow Digimon. Yet after one kick, his foot slipped between the bars, and when he pulled his foot back, his shoe slipped off a bit.

Davis stared at his shoe, then looked at Karatenmon. With several years of soccer behind him, he aimed and kicked out, flinging his shoe at the crow Digimon. It hit him in the head. That got a reaction out him, a rather violent one too.

"Will you stop it!" he roared, rounding on him. "I'm already at my limit. But I must…" he looked at his trembling hands and clenched them tightly, "I must allow this. For the clans. For the good of the clans. This is Volcanusmon's will." He hugged himself, his fingers digging into his arms painfully. "And Beastmon, this is her choice too. She's doing this for her clan, her people. Mine too. Beastmon… Beastmon…"

Davis raised an eyebrow. It was as if Karatenmon was speaking to himself now; he seemed to have completely forgotten that Davis was even there. With an enraged cry, he punched the wall. "Beastmon," he said again, breathing heavily. "I understand. I do. My beloved. So brave, so compassionate. But this… is it really right? Why must you sacrifice yourself like this?"

His claws dug into the wall. "If you were anyone else, anyone else besides the Kogamon heir, I would take you in my arms and never let you go. But I know what duty and honor demands of you, demands of us. It must come first, for the sake of our clans."

His eyes were squeezed shut tight, but Davis could have sworn he saw a tear in them that the crow Digimon was trying very hard to hold back. Suddenly it clicked as to what was happening. He may have been a little slow in putting the pieces together, but he figured it out. This was exactly the opportunity he needed to get out of here and stop Asuramon.

If only he could talk, but he couldn't dislodge the gag. He had tried, rubbing his face against the wall and floor until his cheeks were raw, trying to slip it out, but it was too tight. He kicked out again in frustration, his feet hitting the bars. Pain exploded in his left foot. He had forgotten that he had kicked off his shoe. But as he stared at his shoeless foot, he got an idea.

Using his other foot to slip off his sock, he sat up cross-legged. He leaned over as far as he could, trying to touch his foot to his face. He felt himself pull something, but kept going, finally making contact. He just barely managed to curl his toes around the cloth and pull. It took several tries, but he finally managed to pull the gag away.

Taking a deep breath, he turned to Karatenmon. "Dude, Beastmon and the others are in trouble!"

The crow Digimon glanced at him. "What nonsense are you spouting?"

"It's Asuramon, he's a traitor. He plans to wipe out the Kogamon."

Karatenmon pulled out a sword and pointed it at him. "You lie. Asuramon would never do something so dishonorable. He is the future leader of the Ninjamon, and he's bound by the No Hostilities Pact. He would not break it."

Davis nodded impatiently. "Yeah, but outsiders aren't. It's called a loophole."

Karatenmon regarded him for a moment, lowering his sword slightly. "What do you mean?"

Good, he was willing to listen. "Asuramon made a deal with someone. He said he would give them some scroll if they would destroy the Kogamon."

The crow Digimon's eyes widened. "The scroll? Preposterous. He would never part with it. Volcanusmon himself gave the two halves to the Ninjamon and Kogamon to guard."

Davis snorted. "Well, he certainly doesn't care as much as you guys about Volcanusmon's choice in guardians. At least not if the Kogamon are involved. That's why he tried to steal it all those years ago."

Red eyes narrowed as Karatenmon's anger returned. "Another lie. It was a Kogamon that stole the Ninjamon's half of the scroll and tried to make off with them both. Asuramon was also a Ninjamon at the time, and was the one to discover the Kogamon in question trying to slip away."

Davis rolled his eyes. "Dude, of _course_ he's going to say that. What else is he going to say? But since he's planning on killing me once my friends and the Kogamon are wiped out, he practically bragged to my face about it. He _really_ hates the Kogamon. He thinks they're worthless, that Volcanusmon should have relied solely on the Ninjamon to protect the scroll. That's why he tried to steal it. He framed the Kogamon."

It was clear that Karatenmon was skeptical, crossing his arms as he gave the boy a suspicious look. "And why should I believe anything you say? You're a Kogamon spy."

An aggravated cry escaped Davis. "I'm not a spy! That's just what Asuramon said because I stumbled across him meeting with his contact. He said he would have killed me back then, but was stopped by…" His eyes widened. "It was _you_. He said you were the one who stopped him from killing me."

The crow Digimon looked away. "It would not have been honorable to kill a defenseless prisoner."

"Well, thanks for that. Now trust me, I'm trying to return the favor. Asuramon is planning on trading both halves of the scroll to someone so they'll destroy the Kogamon. If this mating thing takes place, he'll be able to get the Kogamon's half of the scroll and trade it. I heard everything when I came across him and his contact. That's the real reason he attacked me."

He could see that Karatenmon was considering this, but the crow Digimon's loyalty was strong. "He said he attacked you because you were trespassing on Ninjamon territory in the middle of the night, and you were."

Davis had to admit that he had him there. "Ok, yes, I was, but not on purpose. I got lost when I went looking for my friends."

"Your friends?"

"Yeah, I woke up and they were gone. I went looking for them and discovered Beastmon sneaking back into the village. She said my friends were in the forest and would explain everything. I tried to find them and got lost. That's when I ran into Asuramon."

Karatenmon was taking in everything he heard. He turned away from the boy as he considered the possibility that he was telling the truth. "It can't be… Asuramon started the feud? He's really planning to…"

He was getting through to him! "The Kogamon and my friends are in trouble. _Beastmon_ is in trouble. I get that you don't like the Kogamon. I get that you're loyal to your clan and want to believe them, and that means believing Asuramon. But, dude, you have to consider the possibility that I'm telling you the truth. Do you really want to lose Beastmon? Are you really willing to take that risk?"

Karatenmon covered his ears. "Shut up."

"You love her, man. I can tell you do. He told me he was going to break her, and who knows what else. Do you want that to happen?"

"Shut up!"

"He'll completely ruin her and kill her, but not before crushing her entire clan. Do you really want to take that chance? We can still stop them. There's still time. But we have to go _now_."

"I said shut up!"

Davis pressed himself against the bars. "What's it going to be, pal? Are you going to sweep her off her feet, or are you going to just stand by as the freak who's been behind so much death and hatred breaks her and destroys the entire Kogamon Clan?"

Karatenmon let out an agonized cry and whirled around, his swords flying around wildly. Davis cried out and jumped back, falling on his rear. He stared up at Karatenmon, but the crow Digimon had already sheathed his swords and was now standing in silence.

Davis hesitantly sat up. "Uh, what…?"

A moment later, the bars fell apart, Karatenmon's blades having cut straight through them. The crow Digimon stepped through and lifted Davis to his feet. "Let's go."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

As far as Digimon mating ceremonies went, it was very much indeed like a human wedding. As were the speeches that went along with it, MagnaAngemon's in particular.

"Though the Digimon God no longer intervenes in our lives, know that he is watching us, bearing witness to this moment, to this union of Asuramon and Beastmon. I now ask the two to approach."

The demon and cat Digimon came together, standing before the angel Digimon. A grin was plastered on Asuramon's face while Beastmon looked stoic and unfeeling.

"Asuramon," said MagnaAngemon, "do you take Beastmon to be your mate from this day forward, 'til death do you part?"

The demon Digimon reached out and stroked her cheek, and it was plain that it took a great deal of effort on Beastmon's part not to pull away from him. "I do."

In the pews, Takato leaned over to Shoutmon and whispered, "Hey, how does the 'til death do you part thing work since Digimon are just reborn?"

"Just how it sounds," the dragon Digimon whispered back. "Once one of them dies, the mating is considered over, and they can take another if they want. But matings are very rare in the first place and require a deep commitment, so if one dies and the other survives, they'll usually seek each other out again once the one that died is reborn."

TK looked at Asuramon and his eyes narrowed. "Something tells me that won't be the case this time."

Kari nodded in agreement. "You're right. That should be Karatenmon up there with Beastmon."

MagnaAngemon now turned to the cat Digimon in question. "Beastmon, do you take Asuramon to be your mate from this day forward, 'til death do you part?"

She closed her eyes, refusing to meet Asuramon's gaze as she spoke. "Yes. For my clan, I do."

A slight frown appeared on MagnaAngemon's face at her words, yet he continued. "I will now ask both to produce their Fractal Code. To symbolize your union and that you are giving yourself to the other, I ask that you turn over a portion of it to the other."

This time it was Takuya who leaned over. "I thought that a Digimon's digital makeup was contained in their Fractal Code."

Shoutmon nodded. "It is. Everything beside their basic data. All the power, energy, and data they've accumulated since hatching from their Digi-Egg."

"Then won't they turn into a Digi-Egg if they give away their Fractal Code?"

Grimmon spoke. "Only if they give it all away. Say you're a Champion, and you give up the part of your Fractal Code that makes up your Champion level, you'll lose the ability to Digivolve to it until you manage to achieve that level again. Give it all away or have it taken and you'll be reduced to an egg, and have to start from scratch, just as if you died. But in this instance, they're only giving away a very small portion that it won't even affect them."

TK looked on as Asuramon held out his hand and a ribbon of Fractal Code emerged from his palm. "So does exchanging Fractal Code like this bond them or something?"

Shoutmon shook his head. "Nah, it's purely symbolic. Now shush."

The demon Digimon held out his hand, presenting his Fractal Code to Beastmon. "With this, I offer myself to you."

The cat Digimon held out her hand, and a single bar code broke off of Asuramon's Fractal Code and floated over to her. It dissolved into data and she absorbed it. "I accept, and now offer myself to you, symbolizing our union."

Her own Fractal Code emerged from her hand. This was it, once Asuramon accepted her Fractal Code, MagnaAngemon would declare them to be life mates. A part of her hoped that Asuramon would actually go ahead and absorb her entire Fractal Code, reducing her to an egg, so she wouldn't have to be his mate. Even if she somehow managed to prevent him from ever consummating their relationship, she didn't want to be bound to him in any way, even if it was only symbolic or for show.

' _Karatenmon…'_ she thought desperately as she felt Asuramon begin to draw on her Fractal Code.

Before a piece could break away, one of the stained glass windows shattered. All heads in the room turned as a certain crow Digimon flew in, wielding his blades. Her Fractal Code disappeared back into her hand as Beastmon's face lit up, joyful tears appearing in her eyes as she saw him. "Karatenmon!"

"Sacrilege!" MagnaAngemon bellowed in rage. "How dare you violate the sanctity of the Digimon God's sanctuary!"

The crow Digimon ignored him as he turned towards the alter, his red eyes flashing as they landed on the demon Digimon beside Beastmon. "Asuramon!"

Behind him, Paildramon flew into the sanctuary. "Dude, I told you to wait for the 'does anyone object' part."

"Paildramon?!" the teens exclaimed in unison.

The Ninjamon leader was immediately on his feet. "Karatenmon, what is the meaning of this?!"

The crow Digimon ignored him as he pointed his sword at Asuramon. "Get away from Beastmon, you filth!"

Paildramon addressed the crowd. "Everyone, listen up, Asuramon is a traitor! He's been conspiring with others to have them destroy the Kogamon in exchange for the scrolls you guys have been guarding!"

The Kogamon leader rounded on the Ninjamon leader. "What is this?"

Paildramon turned to them. "Don't blame him; he didn't know anything. Asuramon has been behind this feud from the very beginning. _He_ was the Ninjamon that originally stole both halves of the scroll 5,000 years ago and blamed it on the Kogamon who caught him. He bragged about it right to my face after he bound and gagged me, saying how he would kill me and my friends once the Kogamon were destroyed."

He turned to the demon Digimon in question. "That's why he captured me in the first place, because I walked in on him making plans with his ally's confident to destroy the Kogamon when I went searching for TK and Kari that night. He would have killed me then and there if Karatenmon hadn't been drawn to our fight and stopped him from killing me while I was unconscious."

Fury twisted all four of Asuramon's faces as he saw all his carefully laid plains come crashing down. The Kogamon and Ninjamon were all muttering amongst themselves. Curse that miserable human. He should have killed him and said he had been trying to escape.

"SILENCE!" the Ninjamon leader bellowed. He pointed at Paildramon. "How dare you tell such lies!"

"They're not lies," the dragon Digimon insisted. "He said peace with the Kogamon disgusted him and you Ninjamon would rejoice at their destruction, even if it meant giving up the scroll Volcanusmon entrusted to you. And in giving it to his allies, they would wipe out the Kogamon, so the No Hostilities Pact wouldn't be violated." He nodded at Asuramon. "Go ahead, ask him yourself. In fact, while you're at it, ask him why he was even out in the forest in the middle of the night on the night I was captured."

All attention shifted to Asuramon. Even the Ninjamon leader gave him an expectant look. "Well, Asuramon?"

The demon Digimon ground his teeth together. He had nothing to say, no explanation to counter Paildramon's claim. Out of one of the eyes one of his side faces, he saw Beastmon step away from him. The two Sistermon were glaring, and even the passive MagnaAngemon was frowning in disapproval.

It was time for plan B.

His hand shot out and grabbed Beastmon, pulling her towards him. "Death to the Kogamon!"

"Let her go!" Karatenmon shouted, flying towards him.

One of Asuramon's arms wrapped around Beastmon's neck while two others grasped her head. His fourth hand pointed at the crow Digimon. "Come any closer and I'll snap her neck."

Karatenmon froze a few feet from them. Up in the air, Paildramon took aim with his guns and fired a single shot from each. One bullet hit the arm across Beastmon's throat while the other hit one of the hands holding her head. Asuramon cried out and let her go. Beastmon hissed and slashed at him with her claws, scratching him across his front face, allowing her to pull away. Karatenmon made his move, slashing at the demon Digimon with his sword. Asuramon leapt away, avoiding the blade. Karatenmon did not pursue as Beastmon threw herself into his arms.

Snarling furiously, Asuramon turned to his comrades. "My Ninjamon brethren, this is the moment we have been waiting for! Remember who the enemy is! Remember your hatred! The time has come to put an end to the Kogamon once and for all!"

"Oh no you don't!" Tai cried, pulling out his Digivice. _"Execute! Spirit Evolution… MetalGreymon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… WarGrowlmon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… BurningGreymon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Angewomon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… MagnaAngemon!"_

With his friends all in their Digimon forms, Paildramon flew over to join them. "You'll have to get through all of us if you want to touch any of the Kogamon."

Asuramon's eyes narrowed. "Fine then. The Ninjamon have no fear. I've waited thousands of years for this day. The Kogamon will fall!" A grin crept up his face. "And you won't be able to save them either. You see, I brought along some friends of my own just in case things didn't go according to plan."

Placing two fingers in his mouth, he whistled loudly. A few moments passed, and suddenly the walls were suddenly kicked in. Four new Digimon were outside, looking ready and willing to fight.

The smallest resembled a black wolf on two legs, dressed like a street fighter. The other three were much larger, enormous even. The first resembled a misshaped skeleton of T-Rex with what seemed to be an organic missile on its back. The second looked like it could pass for a Transformer, as if it had once been a house that had shaped itself into a man. The last one was essentially a giant round creature with a giant yellow eye for a face, a pair of red batwings, and another eye on the palm of each of its claws.

Asuramon smirked. "Say hello to ShadowWereGarurumon, an old friend of the Garurumon I had DNA Digivolved with when I was still a Ninjamon." He licked his lips. "Beastmon, you might recognize him from when you were a Kogamon."

The cat Digimon pointed. "Yes, I do! He's the Digimon that attacked our village and killed me."

The wolf Digimon punched his palm. "Looks like I get to have that honor twice."

Asuramon chuckled. "As for our other guests, we have SkullGreymon, Housemon, and-"

"Ghoulmon!" Shoutmon exclaimed as he looked at the giant demon Digimon with the enormous eye.

Asuramon folded his two front arms. "It seems my ally came through by sending someone who was sure to wipe out all my enemies."

Shoutmon still couldn't believe what he was seeing. "But Ghoulmon? You actually brought _that_ monster?!"

"What's wrong?" Angewomon asked worriedly, not liking how distraught the dragon Digimon seemed. "Who's Ghoulmon?"

"He's a Mega level demon Digimon," Grimmon told her, "and he has the potential of becoming one of the most powerful and destructive of all Digimon if he-"

"That guy?!" Paildramon interrupted. "Seriously? I mean, sure he's big, but he doesn't look so tough. Neither does that house guy."

"That 'house guy' is Housemon," Shoutmon told him, "and he's a Mega too."

Asuramon laughed. "Not feeling so arrogant now, are you? Looks like the odds are on our favor. Now, come, Ninjamon, come and fight with us. Lets put an end to the Kogamon!"

The Ninjamon leader rounded on him. "Have you lost all reason?! This is not the way we operate! This is a clear violation of the No Hostilities Pact! You dishonor yourself and our clan! What would Volcanusmon say?"

Asuramon scowled. "Volcanusmon was destroyed nearly three months ago!"

Stunned silence fell up the Ninjamon and Kogamon. They stared at Asuramon in disbelief. "Volcanusmon has fallen?" the Kogamon leader whispered.

Ghoulmon opened and closed his claws. "I killed him myself. I wonder if he's even reached the In-Training level yet."

The Ninjamon leader closed his eyes. "Volcanusmon has fallen. After all he has done for us, you betray him." His eyes snapped open, shining with fury. "Asuramon, you are unworthy of being a part of the Ninjamon Digivolution line, let alone be a member of our clan! Choosing you as my heir was the most foolish decision I ever made!"

The demon Digimon gave him a hard look. "After all that I've done for our clan, you cast me aside me from your side? _You_ are the traitor. All of you! I must cleanse the Ninjamon of all impurities!"

WarGrowlmon raised an eyebrow. "This guy's gone completely mad."

"Destroy them!" Asuramon yelled to his allies. "Destroy them all!"

"ENOUGH!" MagnaAngemon PM bellowed. "I will not allow this sacrilege to continue!"

Ghoulmon chuckled. "Oh, you mean like this? _Explosion Eye!"_

He fired a laser from the eye on his torso, splitting the sanctuary in half, and the entire ceiling came crumbling down. Laughing, he followed up with his _Death Arrow_ , firing arrows of death from the eyes on his hands to destroy the walls until the entire sanctuary was in ruins.

Paildramon looked around at all the destruction. "Wow, what a jerk."

MagnaAngemon PM said nothing; he didn't even move. Slowly, his hands clenched, and he spoke in an emotionless voice. "Sistermon Blanc, Sistermon Noir."

"Yes," replied the first as the other one said, "Right."

" _Sistermon Blanc Slide Evolution… Sistermon Blanc Awakened!"_

" _Sistermon Noir Slide Evolution… Sistermon Noir Awakened"_

The two Sistermon had changed from adorable nuns to warrior women nuns more than capable of fighting evil.

BurningGreymon glanced at Shoutmon. "Awakened?"

"Really? Right now? It's unique naming. Just go with it."

But MagnaAngemon PM wasn't done yet as he motioned to the cake Digimon at the back of the sanctuary. "Weddinmon."

She nodded. "Understood. Candlemon, Shortmon, are you ready?"

The two Rookies came up on either side of her. "Ready!"

"Lets do it!"

Light engulfed the three of them and their voices cried out. _"Weddinmon/Shortmon/Candlemon_ _ **DNA**_ _Digivolve to… ReverseWeddinmon!"_

It was like the time the five Wendigomon had Digivolved together to become Mephistomon. Now an enormous Digimon that resembled an upside-down wedding cake stood where the other three once were.

"Cool," said Paildramon. "That must be DNA Digivolving."

Shoutmon nodded. "Yes, different Digimon use it to reach stages that would usually be otherwise unreachable for them as opposed to group Digivolving where two or more of the same Digimon Digivolve together to reach the next level they _can_ reach on their own, but simply aren't strong enough to reach yet."

Asuramon laughed. "You fools. I have two Megas on my side. You have no chance."

"Oh no?" MetalGreymon asked. He surveyed the scene. It was him and his friends along with the Ninjamon Clan, the Kogamon Clan, Grimmon, MagnaAngemon PM, the Sistermon, and ReverseWeddinmon versus Asuramon, ShadowWereGarurumon, SkullGreymon, Housemon, and Ghoulmon. Even with superior numbers the fact that they were up against not just one, but two Megas did not put the odds in their favor. "I guess we'll have to see."

 **(A/N: Looks like this wedding just turned into an all out war. We've got a big group of good guys against a small group of bad guys, of which include two Megas. Despite their superior numbers, things are not looking up for the good guys. I hope you're ready for a big battle, because one is definitely underway.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear or are mentioned. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) below with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/ShadowWereGarurumon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/SkullGreymon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Housemon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Ghoulmon**

 **wikimon** _DOT_ **net/Sistermon_Blanc_(Awaken)**

 **wikimon** _DOT_ **net/Sistermon_Noir_(Awaken)**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Reverse_Weddinmon**


	61. Chapter 61: The Enemy Of My Enemy…

**(A/N: Here's some exciting news. After years of delaying, I'm finally getting around to writing a Pokemon/Digimon crossover story. Don't worry, it won't affect the updating of this story, but in case anyone is interested, I'll have the first chapter out next week. For now, we've got an all out brawl to get to. Things might get a little confusing, but I'll explain my writing style in the Author's Note at the end.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 61: The Enemy Of My Enemy…**

The two groups charged at each other. Unspoken decisions seemed to be made as certain Digimon on the DigiDestined's side split off to face different members of Asuramon's group. The DigiDestined, being the strongest members of their side, went to face Ghoulmon, the strongest of their opponents. The Ninjamon went to after ShadowWereGarurumon while the Kogamon attacked SkullGreymon. Being a pacifist, MagnaAngemon PM hung back from actually attacking, but still went to aid the two Sistermon and ReverseWeddinmon against Housemon.

It seemed only natural that Karatenmon faced off against Asuramon. Beastmon went to fight with him, but the crow Digimon seemed to prefer to protect her rather than let her fight.

Crying out, Karatenmon brought his swords down. Asuramon caught them with two of his arms and used his other two to rain punches against the crow Digimon's chest. Karatenmon jumped back and charged at him, swinging his swords. Asuramon stepped backwards, smacking the blades away as the two performed a mock dance.

Asuramon was over a head taller than Karatenmon, and physically much stronger, but the crow Digimon had speed on his side, and knew how to use it. He avoided Asuramon's flaming punches, but the demon Digimon's massive girth allowed him to block most of his attacks.

Karatenmon stabbed forward with his swords, and Asuramon grabbed the blades. He then shifted his wings to attempt to stab the demon Digimon with the ends, but Asuramon's extra hands grabbed these as well, and the two remained locked together.

"You know, I never liked you," Asuramon told him. "Ever since you Digivolved, I knew what you wanted, and my dislike for you has grown ever since."

The crow Digimon pushed harder with his blades and his wings, but Asuramon held him at bay. "I never wanted to lead. All I ever wanted was Beastmon. You care nothing for her."

The demon Digimon chuckled. "Oh, you're wrong about that. I care about her wellbeing a great deal, and I intend to destroy it. I'm going to violate her and break her in every way imaginable. I'll have her crawling beneath my heel like the wretched cur she is. Oh, how I wish you could watch."

Fury twisted Karatenmon's features. "You're a monster."

"And you're a pitiful fool, falling in love with a member of the Kogamon Clan. You loved her even when she was a Kogamon and you were a Ninjamon, when your hatred for her should have been at its strongest. How could you? Have you no self-respect? Have you no Ninjamon pride? Falling in love with the enemy, it's disgusting!"

A groan escaped Karatenmon as the demon Digimon began to bend his wings back. "You manipulated our clans."

Asuramon chuckled. "I didn't manipulate them. I simply made sure they hated each other as much as possible, and continued to do so over the years."

"And Volcanusmon? Do you deny betraying him?"

"I had nothing to do with that. Ghoulmon was the one to destroy him. My ally approached me shortly afterwards when he learned that the Ninjamon and the Kogamon were keeping the scrolls for him. That's when we made our deal. But I needed to find out where the Kogamon hid their half. That's where my mating to Beastmon came in."

Disgust flashed in Laratenmon's eyes. "You aid those that destroyed Volcanusmon? After everything he's done for us?"

"That was a long time ago. How long are we to cater to that fool's whims? We should have moved on long ago."

Karatenmon leaned back. "The same should be said for your hatred towards the Kogamon!"

He brought his head slamming against Asuramon, the long, pointy, nose-like portion of his mask stabbing into the demon Digimon's chest. Asuramon grunted and his hold eased up. Karatenmon twisted his blades in Asuramon's hands, the edges cutting into the demon Digimon's palms, and pulled away. _"Feather Sonic!"_

He flapped his wings outward, and unleashed a sonic wave. Asuramon was blasted backwards, but managed to remain on his feet. Karatenmon followed up with _Feather Flare_ , flapping his wings to shoot feathers at the demon Digimon like knives. Asuramon covered his face and chest with his four arms, the feathers stabbing into them.

Lowering his arms, Asuramon glared at Karatenmon furiously. He bellowed with rage and charged at him, his fists igniting. _"Fire Fist of Shiva!"_

His fists went flying, shooting out at such speeds that it looked like he had twelve arms instead of four. Karatenmon backed away, barely able to deflect and avoid the flaming punches. He was quickly losing ground, and decided to take to the air.

"Get back here!" Asuramon bellowed, grabbing the crow Digimon's ankle. He slammed Karatenmon on the ground, and he landed flat on his back, hitting his head hard. Asuramon roared again and used _Asura Exploding Fist_ , all four fists slamming into Karatenmon at once and unleashing a stream of fire.

" _Fire Fist of Shiva!"_ he shouted again, and began pummeling the crow Digimon with fiery punches all over his body.

"Leave him be!" Beastmon shouted, jumping onto his back. _"Mind Fogger!"_

She sank her fangs into his neck and began rapidly sucking his blood. Asuramon cried out and one of his fists flew back, slamming into her face and knocking her off him. He turned around and marched over to her fallen form, reaching down and grabbing her around her neck. He lifted her in the air, squeezing her throat tightly, cutting off her air supply. "This is where it begins, your breaking point."

She cracked her eyes open, glaring at him. Her hands came up, grasping his arm tightly, her claws digging into his flesh. _"Vampire Jewel!"_

Asuramon hissed as he felt his energy being drained. His fist shot out, burying into her gut. Her stomach was flat and well-toned, yet his fist still buried in deeply. Beastmon sputtered, the breath completely knocked out of her. Her arms dropped to her side, and she simply hung there, sputtering and gasping in pain.

"It may take a little longer than I thought to completely crush your spirit," he hissed at her.

"Let her go."

Asuramon turned to see Karatenmon getting to his feet, using his swords for support. He grinned arrogantly and let the cat Digimon fall to the ground. "You still have some fight in you? How delightful. I'll break every bone in your body and then force you to watch what I plan to do to your beloved for weeks to come before I put an end to you."

Karatenmon was on his feet again. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, composing himself. _"Harmony Swords!"_

His eyes snapped open, glowing brightly. He stared at Asuramon, and the demon Digimon sneered at him before going on the attack. Karatenmon remained completely still as Asuramon threw a punch. With complete and utter calm, he dodged at the last possible moment.

Asuramon stumbled past him, bewildered at how he could have possibly missed. He turned back to Karatenmon and threw another punch. Just like before, the crow Digimon dodged at the last moment, his movements smooth and precise. Asuramon scowled and began punching wildly. Karatenmon deflected and dodged the blows with relative ease, remaining completely calm and collect the entire time.

Karatenmon's glowing eyes brought on by his _Harmony Swords_ attack were not just for show. They allowed him to read Asuramon's spirit and anticipate his moves. He could see them before they happened, like a ghostly image moving in slow motion, showing him what Asuramon was about to do before he did it. Even with all four of the demon Digimon's flaming fists coming at him, Karatenmon maneuvered around them with ease.

Asuramon lashed out with his _Asura Exploding Fist_ , punching out with all four fists at once. Karatenmon knew he would not be able to dodge this attack and jumped up instead, flipping over the demon Digimon's head, kneeing him in his front face as he did so. His hands came down as he flipped, the hilts of his swords slamming into Asuramon's side faces, and as he completed his flip, his heel collided with the fourth face in the back of Asuramon's head.

The demon Digimon stumbled forward, seething. His back face saw Karatenmon standing directly behind him. With an angry snarl, he whirled around, using his _Asura Sweltering Fist_. Fire shot out of his knuckles like a flamethrower. Karatenmon leaned far back, both the fire and Asuramon's fist passing over him. His swords came up and sliced straight through Asuramon's arm. The demon Digimon cried out and stumbled back as his severed arm flew through the air, dissolving into data.

"My arm!" he bellowed, clutching the stump that used to be his front right arm.

Karatenmon stood up straight again. He closed his eyes for a moment and opened them again. When he did, they had stopped glowing. He pointed his sword at the demon Digimon and took a step forward. Behind him, Beastmon got to her feet, stumbling. She moved to stand beside Karatenmon, raising her claws and bearing her fangs. Asuramon glared at the two of them and backed away. With an angry snarl, he bolted, disappearing into the crowd of battling Digimon.

"Let him go," Karatenmon said to Beastmon. "He's finished. Neither of our clans will ever have him. For now, we have to help our friends."

They looked to their clan members first. The Ninjamon were engaged in battle with ShadowWereGarurumon. The beast man Digimon was a fierce fighter, and, being an Ultimate, he was more than a match for the ten Champions.

" _Garuru Kick!"_ he cried, kicking away a Ninjamon. Four more jumped up and flung several shuriken at him. ShadowWereGarurumon used his _Shadow Claw_ to knock them away, then used _Full Moon Kick_ , kicking out in a circle to knock away all four of the ninja Digimon.

The first Ninjamon he had kicked away was on its feet again, and it and the other five formed a circle around the Ultimate. _"Dancing Leaves!"_ the Ninjamon leader ordered.

He and the others unleashed their attack, and ShadowWereGarurumon was surrounded by a tornado of leaves. He howled loudly and unleashed his _Foxfire_ , breathing a stream of blue fire into the swirling leaves. Bursting from the ashes, he unleashed his _Baldy Blow_ , raining a shower of punches covered by the spiky brass knuckles on one Ninjamon after another, going around the circle until all six had been knocked away.

" _Iga-Style Sword Draw!"_ a Ninjamon cried.

ShadowWereGarurumon held up his hand, and the sword clanged against his brace knuckle. He grabbed the ninja Digimon, holding him close to his mouth as blue flames escaped his jaws. _"Foxfire!"_

A stream of blue fire was unleashed in the Ninjamon's face. It lasted for several seconds before the ninja Digimon burst into data, which the wolf Digimon promptly absorbed.

"Our comrade has fallen!" the Ninjamon leader cried.

Another Ninjamon came to his side. "Master, he is too strong for us."

The leader's eyes narrowed. "Then lets kill his senses. _Smoke Ball!"_

The other Ninjamon followed suit, throwing more _Smoke Balls_ all around. ShadowWereGarurumon was surrounded by a cloud of smoke. His eyes darted around, but he saw nothing but a shadow here and there moving in the cloud. He could not smell them due the smoke, and the sounds of swords clashing within the cloud masked the Ninjamon's already silent movements.

" _Ninja Knife Throwing!"_

A shuriken flew at the beast man Digimon, but he caught it before it could hit him. A Ninjamon jumped at him from behind, sword raised, but ShadowWereGarurumon's fist shot out and punched them back into the cloud of smoke. Several more shuriken were thrown at him, but the beast man Digimon was too fast and danced out of the way.

The Ninjamon leader jumped at ShadowWereGarurumon. The beast man Digimon threw a punch, knocking him back, but not before the leader tossed another _Smoke Ball_ , this one hitting ShadowWereGarurumon in the face. He stumbled back, coughing, and the other Ninjamon made their move.

They lunged at him, swinging their swords, but ShadowWereGarurumon jumped up, above the cloud of smoke, landing outside of it. He turned back to the cloud of smoke and unleashed his _Foxfire_ , making sure to cover every inch of the inside of the cloud. Then he stopped and waited.

The cloud began to disperse, as if it were being blown away. When it cleared, he saw Karatenmon standing in front of the Ninjamon, having cleared the smoke by flapping his wings. His swords were glowing red from the heat, having been used to slice through the flames ShadowWereGarurumon had breathed at the Ninjamon.

The beast man Digimon growled and raised his fist, preparing to fight, but a whistle to his left drew his attention. He turned to find Beastmon standing a distance away, moving her arms around in an enchanting way.

" _Witch Warp…"_ she breathed, moving about in a mesmerizing belly dance. ShadowWereGarurumon blinked his eyes a few times, trying to stay focused as hypnotic waves flowed off of Beastmon and over him.

" _Feather Flare!"_ Karatenmon cried, firing a series of feathers, and the beast man Digimon snapped out of his stupor and howled in pain as the feathers stabbed into his back.

As ShadowWereGarurumon turned to him, Karatenmon held out his arms. There was no need for instructions as the Ninjamon jumped up, leaping off the crow Digimon's shoulders, and flung their shuriken at ShadowWereGarurumon. Another agonized howl escaped him as the ninja stars rained across his body.

As the beast man Digimon stumbled back, Karatenmon rushed towards him. He stabbed forward, his sword piercing ShadowWereGarurumon's gut and bursting out his back, then maneuvered around him and stabbed backwards, his second blade going into the beast man Digimon's back and coming out his chest.

" _Feather Sonic!"_ Karatenmon cried, unleashing a sonic wave that blasted ShadowWereGarurumon off his feet. He hit the ground hard, tried to get up, but collapsed again before bursting into data.

"Well done," the Ninjamon leader told Karatenmon. "I see now that I was a fool to over look you in favor of Asuramon."

The crow Digimon bowed his head to him. "You were thinking of the clan. When Asuramon and I were still both Ninjamon, he was indeed the stronger and more suitable of us."

The leader smirked. "Well, it seems I'm in need of a new heir. And they must be an Ultimate…"

Karatenmon raised his head, looking at the Ninjamon leader, but before more words could be exchanged, Beastmon called out to him. "Karatenmon, my people!"

She took off towards the Kogamon as they battled with SkullGreymon. Karatenmon looked back at the Ninjamon leader, the two staring at each other for a moment before he went to help. Ninjamon watched him go to aid the Kogamon, his clan's enemies, feeling torn between the truths that had been brought to light and 5,000 years of hatred.

Unlike ShadowWereGarurumon, SkullGreymon was little more than a savage beast. And while this gave the Kogamon a better chance, it also made the skeleton Digimon more dangerous. For that reason, the Kogamon tried to keep their distance from him.

Currently, they were running circles around him, throwing caltrops. The ninja stars either bounced off his body or embedded themselves in bone, but were relatively ineffective.

"Master, this is not working," one of the Kogamon unnecessarily reported to the leader.

"I can see that. We need a new strategy."

SkullGreymon roared and lashed out at them. Three of the Kogamon jumped up and ran up the length of his arm, and he turned his attention to them. _"Curse Breath!"_ the skeleton Digimon cried, breathing a massive stream of fire and poison from his mouth as the Kogamon reached his head.

The ninja Digimon jumped over the poisonous flames and threw some more caltrops into the skeleton Digimon's empty eye socket. SkullGreymon's only reaction was to swipe at them, knocking them away from his face.

"Go for his legs!" the leader ordered, and the Kogamon immediately rushed to obey. They attacked from behind, wielding their swords, and swiped at the back of the skeleton Digimon's ankles where his tendons would have been if he had any flesh. Their swords left minor imprints in the bone, but far from any real damage.

SkullGreymon growled and looked down at them, his abnormally large jaw hanging open. His hand came down to crush the Kogamon, and the ninja Digimon hopped away. SkullGreymon lashed out with his tail before they could escape completely, and several of the Kogamon were knocked away.

"We need more men," the leader acknowledged. "Lets go for the next best thing. _Koga Style Shadow Clone!"_

He leapt from where he was, splitting into four individuals as he did so. The others mimicked him, creating three to five duplicates, and soon a much larger group was charging at the skeleton Digimon. Half a dozen leapt at him, and SkullGreymon swiped at them. His claw passed right through the shadow copies, and they vanished. That's when several of the real ones landed on him, stabbing into his bony body with their swords.

SkullGreymon roared angrily and began unleashing his _Curse Breath_ all over, and the Kogamon retreated. The skeleton Digimon then stood up straight and held out his arms, bracing himself. On his back, the fleshy missile ignited at the bottom. _"Dark Shot!"_

He was just about to launch the missile from his spinal cord when Beastmon came leaping at him. Her fist slammed into the side of his head, causing him to stumble just as his missile was launched, causing it to go off course and explode in the distance.

SkullGreymon roared and backhanded her. She hit the ground hard, and the Kogamon rushed over to her. "My lady, are you alright?"

The cat Digimon grunted and opened her eyes, rubbing her head. "I think so."

What seemed to serve as a chuckle escaped SkullGreymon as he stalked towards the group. The Kogamon moved in front of Beastmon protectively, even though she was far stronger than any of them. Raising his bony hand, he prepared to swipe at them when Karatenmon flew up behind him and buried both swords in the back of his head.

SkullGreymon roared and swatted the back of his head. Karatenmon pulled out his swords and took to the air. The skeleton Digimon's head turned completely around until he was looking up at him. _"Curse Breath!"_

" _Feather Sonic!"_

The attacks collided, the shockwave from Karatenmon's attack caused SkullGreymon's poisonous fire to flow outward. He flew around the toxic flames and landed beside Beastmon and the Kogamon, who regarded him with suspicion.

"We have to be careful," he told them. "He's a lot stronger than ShadowWereGarurumon."

"Can't you just read his movements like you did with Asuramon?" the cat Digimon asked.

He shook his head. "He's too feral and savage to get a reading on, even with my _Harmony Swords_. His wild nature makes him unpredictable."

Beastmon frowned. "Darn, then my _Witch Warp_ won't be able to enchant him either."

SkullGreymon marched closer. He took a deep breath and prepared to unleash more toxic fire. That's when the Ninjamon attacked. As SkullGreymon had bent down to unleash his _Curse Breath_ , he was pelted by several _Smoke Ball_ attacks. He rose to his feet, unable to see his prey, and breathed his fire into the sky in aggravation.

The nine remaining Ninjamon appeared beside the Kogamon. The two leaders looked at each other for a few moments before turning to face SkullGreymon. "Kogamon/Ninjamon, attack!"

Numerous shurikens from the Ninjamon, caltrops from the Kogamon, and feathers from Karatenmon sprayed against SkullGreymon. The skeleton Digimon roared, more annoyed that hurt. The attacks were more of a nuisance than anything else, and he ignored them as he fired his _Curse Breath_.

The two groups scattered, avoiding the flames. They were getting nowhere fast. SkullGreymon was proving to be a very fierce opponent. Not only was he strong, his body made him practically immune to their attacks.

"We need a new strategy," said the Ninjamon leader. "Lets try causing a diversion and then move in close."

"We don't take orders from Ninjamon trash," a Kogamon snapped. "Everything that has happened in this feud has been your clan's fault, and now it's led to this."

"That's enough!" the Kogamon leader scolded. "We'll work this out later. Lets just survive this first. Move out!"

There was no argument from anyone, and they leapt away as SkullGreymon's hand slammed down on where they had been. The Ninjamon formed a circle around SkullGreymon and used their _Dancing Leaves_. A leaf-filled tornado formed around the skeleton Digimon, and SkullGreymon swiped at them furiously. The Kogamon, accompanied by their newly created shadow copies, fearlessly rushed into the vortex and began hopping up and down SkullGreymon's body, slashing him with their swords.

Roaring, SkullGreymon shook himself like a wet dog. He breathed more poisonous fire, causing the leafy tornado to go up in flames. Both groups of ninja Digimon retreated as SkullGreymon emerged from their fiery vortex.

"Our attacks are useless," Beastmon growled. "We need to try something else."

Karatenmon's eyes ran over SkullGreymon's body, looking for a weak spot. He spotted none, but his eyes landed on the organic missile that had regenerated in his back. "If our attacks won't work, that only leaves us with one option. We'll have to use his own attacks against him."

This earned him several bewildered looks. "What?" Beastmon asked.

He nodded towards the skeleton Digimon. "His missile. If I can get him to launch it at me while I'm in the air, I might be able to redirect it back at him. Fortunately, he's not too smart and runs almost purely on instinct."

The Kogamon leader raised an eyebrow. "Impressive. I thought all you in the Ninjamon Clan were fools."

Beastmon was currently thinking that of the crow Digimon as well. "That's insane! Once he launches it, that missile could go off at any moment. What if it blows when you're right there? You'll never survive it."

But Karatenmon looked determine. "I have to try."

"You'll be killed!" She hugged him tightly from behind, pressing her face into his back. "I love you, Karatenmon. I can't lose you."

Placing his hands over hers, he pried them off, then turned to face her. "I'll come back. Even if I die, I'll come find you. I don't care if it takes 100,000 years. I'll never stop searching."

With tears in her eyes, she gave him a small smile. "I'm the future leader of the Kogamon. There's only one place I'll be."

He returned the smile and kissed her, right there in front of their clan members. "I'll see you there; one way or another."

He pulled away and took to the air. Beastmon watched him go, her hands over her heart. The Kogamon leader looked on with a bewildered look on his face. "What was that about?"

"Yes," the Ninjamon leader exclaimed, looking just as surprise, "what _was_ that about?"

She glared at them. "Shut up! I'm the future leader of our clans; I can do as I wish!"

SkullGreymon swiped at the crow Digimon as he flew towards him. Karatenmon maneuvered around the claw and flew above him. _"Feather Flare!"_

A shower of feathers flew down, stabbing into SkullGreymon like knives raining from the sky. The skeleton Digimon growled in annoyance and breathed more fire up at him. Karatenmon flew up higher, out of the fire's reach, and unleashed his _Feather Sonic_.

This attack seemed to be more affective as the shockwave caused SkullGreymon to stumble back. Karatenmon repeated the attack several more times before finally getting the reaction he wanted. SkullGreymon held out his arms and spread out his legs, bracing himself for the launch. "Take cover!"

Beastmon and the ninja Digimon did just that, putting distance between themselves and the skeleton Digimon. Unfortunately, the movement was caught by SkullGreymon, who immediately turned his attention to them, changing his target.

"No, not them!" Karatenmon shouted, flying at the skeleton Digimon. SkullGreymon swatted him away, and Karatenmon crashed into the remains of a wall. The skeleton Digimon seemed to grin before bending down onto all fours as his head rotated, exposing an opening to the inside of his chest cavity, where a second missile lay encompassed by his ribcage. _"Double Dark Shot!"_

The end of the missile on his back, as well as the one inside his chest, ignited, preparing to fire. A lone Kogamon skidded to a halt and ran back the other way, towards SkullGreymon. Pulling out his sword, he leapt at the skeleton Digimon just as the two missiles began to move. "Long live the Kogamon!"

He stabbed forward, his blade stabbing into the nose of the missile coming out of SkullGreymon's chest before it even cleared the skeleton Digimon's body. It went off, the explosion flowing over the second missile, setting that one off as well. Both SkullGreymon and the Kogamon were consumed by the blast. And when the smoke cleared, only the fading remnants of their data remained.

The Kogamon leader punched the ground. "Damn it! Poor, brave, fool. What was he thinking?"

The Ninjamon leader moved to stand beside him. "What all of us should have thought of and done." He humphed. "Saved by a Kogamon. This feud is certainly taking a left turn."

The Kogamon leader stood up. "There's no time for this. The battle isn't over yet." He looked to Karatenmon, who was being helped up by Beastmon. "Can you still fight? We need all the warriors we can get."

The crow Digimon motioned to Beastmon that he was ok and nodded to the Kogamon leader. "For as long as I need to."

Kogamon nodded. "Good, now, listen up, I have a plan." He looked from one Mega Digimon to the other. "Ghoulmon is far too powerful for any of us to defeat. Housemon though, we have a much better chance at defeating him. There are ten Ultimates here, and Angewomon and the two MagnaAngemon's power borders on Mega. If we can get the ten of them to fight Housemon together, they might stand a chance."

The Ninjamon leader considered this. "Maybe, but what about Ghoulmon? He won't just stand by while everyone gangs up on Housemon."

Kogamon's lips thinned. "No, that's why all us Champions will fight him. I know we can't win, but we can at least provide a distraction to give the others a chance to take out Housemon."

"Master," said another Kogamon, "we won't survive long against that monster."

"It's not about surviving. It's about giving the others a fighting chance."

Ninjamon's fists clenched. "If we fall, there will be no one to inform either of our clans of what Asuramon has done. They won't listen unless it comes from either you or I."

"Then we'll just have to make it through this."

Ninjamon stared at him for a moment before sighing. "Well, if I die, at least I won't have this scar on my face anymore when I come back." He chuckled. "Some day of peace this turned out to be."

"Maybe we'll drink to it one day. Now come on, let's move!"

The two groups charged forward into battle, both the Kogamon and the Ninjamon fighting together.

 **(A/N: This is a switch. Both sides, once trying to kill each other, are now fighting along side each other for survival. You know, fight scenes with multiple battles going on can be tough to write. For my style, when I jumped from one fight to another, you can assume that these fights were happening at the same time. For example, the delay before Karatenmon and Beastmon joined the Ninjamon to fight ShadowWereGarurumon was because their battle with Asuramon was taking place during that time. Did I explain that properly? Tune in next week to find out how our heroes are fairing in the battle.)**


	62. Chapter 62: A Mega Problem

**(A/N: Alrighty then. Last chapter, we saw the Kogamon and Ninjamon work together to take out a few enemies. Now it's time to see how our heroes are fairing. In other news, my Pokemon/Digimon crossover story has begun. It's called _Pokemon vs Digimon: When Worlds Collide_ in case anyone is interested. If not, here's the next installment.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 62: A Mega Problem**

"I'll tell you this much," Grimmon told Shoutmon as he protected the dragon Digimon from any stray attacks or debris by coiling his serpentine body around him, "your friends sure are brave."

The dragon Digimon snorted. Brave was not the word he would have chosen. More like downright foolish. Not simply because they were fighting a Mega, they had done that before, but because of _who_ they were fighting. VenomMyotismon had been one thing, Argomon Mega had been another, but Ghoulmon…

There was no way they would be able to defeat Ghoulmon, not even if they had had a Mega or two of their own on their side. He was just too powerful. While normally a neutral member in the war between good and evil, when Ghoulmon did attack, it was catastrophic, especially if…

"They're going to die," he whispered. "They can't win. They're going to die! I have to help!"

He started to climb out of Grimmon's coils, but the reaper Digimon wrapped around him tighter. "And just what exactly are you, a Rookie, going to do against that thing? You won't last ten seconds, not unless he decides to draw out your death for sport."

Shoutmon's fists clenched, but he knew the reaper Digimon was right. Ghoulmon was already playing with his friends; there was nothing he could do for them as he currently was. The only thing he would accomplish would be getting himself killed.

"Oops, got something in your eye, pal?" Paildramon mocked as he fired his guns. _"Desperado Blaster!"_ His bullets sprayed across Ghoulmon's giant eye, yet the demon Digimon didn't react short of blinking once. Paildramon stopped firing and his shoulders sank. "I just shot him in the eye. How did that not hurt?"

" _Grey Claw!"_ Ghoulmon cried, his claw shooting out. Paildramon swerved out of the claw's path, but was knocked to the ground when the demon Digimon backhanded him. "Oops, got something on your face there, pal?"

BurningGreymon's _Pyro Barrage_ slammed into him from behind, drawing the demon Digimon's attention. "One person with bad jokes is more than enough. _Burning Grey Basher!"_

His body ignited and he flew at Ghoulmon, but the demon Digimon grabbed him, regardless of his flaming body. "I agree. Let me give you a real punch line." He punched the ground with the claw grasping BurningGreymon. "Now that will crack you up."

"So will this! _Atomic Blaster!"_

The plasma beams blasted against Ghoulmon's back, and he turned to the cyborg dinosaur Digimon. "Is that your way of telling me you're having a blast?"

"Here's a blast!" Angewomon cried as she and MagnaAngemon flew above WarGrowlmon. _"Heaven's Charm!"_

" _Soul Vanisher!"_

Angewomon's attack blasted Ghoulmon back, but he recovered quickly and held up his arm to block MagnaAngemon's energy blades. " _I_ see your point. _Explosion Eye!"_

He fired a laser from his eye. MagnaAngemon moved in front of Angewomon and used _Shield and Counter_ to repel the attack, but was unable to and ended up getting blasted away by the resulting explosion.

"MagnaAngemon!" his fellow angel Digimon shouted. She forced herself to look away and returned her attention to the demon Digimon. _"Celestial Arrow!"_

Ghoulmon just laughed as he easily swatted away her attack. "You call that a good use of arrows? I'll show you how to use arrows."

He was suddenly grabbed from behind by MetalGreymon. "I don't think so."

The demon Digimon just chuckled. "I'll be with you in a moment. I'm in the middle of a demonstration." He held his claw up to Angewomon. _"Death Arrow!"_

Arrows went flying from the eye in his palm. Angewomon used _Bliss of Saints_ and began absorbing them, but there were too many, and she was struck repeatedly. WarGrowlmon caught her before she hit the ground. "Angewomon, you alright?"

Ghoulmon laughed and then reached back, his claw closing over the top of MetalGreymon's head and squeezing. " _Now_ it's your turn."

WarGrowlmon set Angewomon down and charged, using his thrusters to push himself along. "No, now it's your turn. _Radiation Blade!"_

He swung his radiated blade, but Ghoulmon managed to catch his arm and chuckled. "Oh, it's my turn? Why didn't you say so?" He closed his giant eye and slammed into WarGrowlmon, keeping a firm grip on his arm as the cyborg dinosaur Digimon dropped to his knees.

A spray of bullets came down from up above, and Ghoulmon looked up to see Paildramon firing down at him. "Oh, you're back." MagnaAngemon and Angewomon joined him. "And you brought your friends. How delightful."

" _Metal Slash!"_ MetalGreymon cried, stabbing the demon Digimon with his metal arm.

Ghoulmon glanced at him, tightening his grip on the cyborg dinosaur Digimon's head. "Oh, are you jealous that you're the only one of your friends that can't fly? Well, here, let me help you with that." He flew up, pulling MetalGreymon and WarGrowlmon along with him. He stopped several feet away from the other three and chuckled. "Nice weather, isn't it? A perfect day to die."

"Speak for yourself, monster," Paildramon snapped.

The demon Digimon chuckled. "Don't take it personally. I'm just following orders."

"Well, follow this. _Electric Bolt!"_

MagnaAngemon drew a circle as Angewomon took aim. _"Heaven's Gate!"_

" _Celestial Arrow!"_

Ghoulmon just laughed off Paildramon's attack, but grunted as he was hit by the other two. "I actually felt those. Good job. Here's your prize."

He threw MetalGreymon at them. MagnaAngemon half caught, half collided with the cyborg dinosaur Digimon. Ghoulmon then fired his _Explosion Eye_ at them. Once they were out of the way, the lasers shot to the left and struck Paildramon.

" _Super Jump!"_ Angewomon cried, launching herself out of the way from the wandering explosive laser towards Ghoulmon with a blast of holy energy shooting her forward.

The demon Digimon lashed out with his _Grey Claw_ attack, his claw slamming into Angewomon and knocking her away before she could even reach him, his claw shredding one of her wings. "Sorry, there was an insect buzzing around my head."

He was still gripping WarGrowlmon's arm, and the dangling cyborg Digimon angled his body towards the demon Digimon. _"Megalo Spark!"_

Electricity flowed out of his chest and over Ghoulmon. The demon Digimon's large yellow eye shifted to him, shining with mirth. "That was quite shocking. But don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you." Grabbing him with his other claw, he lifted WarGrowlmon above his head. "We're in a free fall."

He dropped from the sky, bringing the struggling WarGrowlmon with him. Just before they reached the ground, he slammed the cyborg dinosaur Digimon down, creating a large crater from the impact. WarGrowlmon lay flat on his stomach with Ghoulmon standing on top of him. "I think you look good in the dirt."

" _Atomic Blaster!"_

Firing his attack into the ground, WarGrowlmon launched himself and the demon Digimon into the air. Ghoulmon's giant eye narrowed slightly at his opponent's determination. "Well, at least you don't let anything keep you down."

" _Salamander Glide!"_

BurningGreymon slammed into Ghoulmon from behind, knocking him away from WarGrowlmon. The demon Digimon kept to the air as he turned to face his assailant. "Well done, you actually hit me that time. Probably would have been more effective if you had set yourself on fire like before. Time to pay for your blunder."

He held up his claw, preparing to attack when MetalGreymon's _Giga Destroyer_ hit him in the back. The demon Digimon turned to him, scowling slightly. "You guys have a bad habit of attacking while your opponent's back is turned."

MetalGreymon snorted. "That's rich coming from an evil demon Digimon."

Ghoulmon chuckled. "You're right. But I have no problem attacking head on either. _Death Arrow!"_

A storm of arrows flew down. MagnaAngemon quickly flew over to MetalGreymon and used _Shield and Counter_ , this time managing to deflect the individual arrows. Angewomon hurried over, taking cover behind her fellow angel Digimon's barrier, and fired a _Celestial Arrow_. It flew through the storm of Ghoulmon's attack, but never reached its target as Ghoulmon caught the arrow and snapped it in half. "Care to try again? Third time's a charm."

Angewomon scowled. "He's too strong. We've never faced anyone this powerful before."

"You're right," MagnaAngemon agreed, "but what else can we do?"

"Tag out," a familiar voice suggested. The Kogamon leader had arrived. He was immediately joined by the Ninjamon leader and the rest of their brethren. "We'll handle this. You guys take care of Housemon."

Paildramon flew over. "Are you mad? No offense, but there's no way you can beat him."

"We know that," the Ninjamon leader replied. "But we can't beat Housemon either. You guys might be able to defeat him though. We'll distract Ghoulmon while you take out Housemon, then we can all gang up on Ghoulmon. It's our best chance."

"What are you blabbing about?" Ghoulmon demanded from the air.

MetalGreymon glanced at the ninja Digimon. "You sure about this? You could be killed."

"And I'm sure many of us will be," Kogamon replied. "Just don't take too long with Housemon, and some of us just might survive. Move!"

The 18 ninja Digimon charged forward as the DigiDestined reluctantly changed their opponent. Ghoulmon's giant eye widened in surprise as his opponent changed from a group of Ultimates to a larger group of Champions. "What's this now? You all want to fight me?" He came down for a landing. "Alright then, this could be fun. _Explosion Eye!"_

He fired his laser. The Kogamon and Ninjamon hopped from here to there as the laser danced in different directions. The Kogamon split into shadow copies as the Ninjamon tossed their _Smoke Balls_ , providing both a cover and fake targets.

Ghoulmon laughed. "Have you fools seen my eye? Did you really think I couldn't see through your trickery? _Death Arrow!"_

Arrows went flying into the smoke. The ninja Digimon maneuvered around the arrows, some jumping up and out of the smoke to avoid them. Ghoulmon locked onto them. "Targets acquired."

He fired his laser, once, twice, three times. Two Ninjamon and a Kogamon were instantly destroyed. Ghoulmon laughed as those remaining moved in; there was no time to mourn their losses.

"Ninjamon attack!" the Ninjamon leader ordered. _"Ninja Knife Throwing!"_

" _Makibishi!"_ the Kogamon joined in.

Countless knives and ninja stars rained across the demon Digimon's body. Ghoulmon barely even reacted, even when the weapons flew into his giant eye. He simply blinked them away, the protective jelly covering over his eye acting as a barrier. "Ready or not, here I come."

He charged at the group, swiping at them with his _Grey Claw_. The Kogamon and Ninjamon kept moving, jumping around to avoid his slashing claw and stomping feet. Ghoulmon was laughing, even as the ninja Digimon jumped up and down his body. Even when they began slashing at him with their swords, he seemed to be enjoying himself.

The Kogamon copies proved to be a nuisance though, as every time he thought he had one, it faded into shadows and vapor. He did manage to grab one, and wasted no time in crushing it into data. "As fun as this is, I think there's a few too many of you. _Death Arrow!"_

He raised his arms and began firing his arrows. They flew into the sky and came down like a deadly rain. Ghoulmon just laughed as the arrows rained down over him, but the ninja Digimon were not so immune. Three more Ninjamon and two more Kogamon were destroyed, leaving only four of the former and five of the latter left.

"Provide a distraction and go for that eye!" the Kogamon leader cried once the arrows stopped falling. The nine remaining ninja Digimon leapt at Ghoulmon. The Ninjamon threw their _Smoke Balls_ at him as the Kogamon multiplied with their _Koga Style Shadow Clone_. They stabbed forward with their swords, only to have Ghoulmon smack them away.

They hit the ground hard as Ghoulmon flapped his wings to clear the smoke. He stalked towards the fallen ninja Digimon, his giant eye darting from one group to the other. "Don't tell me you're finished already."

The two clan leaders had landed close by to each other. Kogamon forced himself sit up. "This may not have been the best plan."

Ninjamon, likewise, was struggling to get up too. "We need to keep fighting. If we fall, then the plan will backfire, and the others will have two Megas to deal with."

Kogamon looked over at Housemon, who was still fighting with the others. "We have to keep Ghoulmon distracted, no matter what."

"I'm open to suggestions."

Kogamon's fists clenched. He looked revolted by what he was about to say. "Well, I do have one idea, but you're not going to like it."

Ninjamon glanced at him. He studied the purple-clad ninja Digimon for a moment before his eyes widened in understanding. "You can't be serious!"

"I told you that you wouldn't like it."

"I'd rather die a thousand deaths!"

"And I'd rather die 10,000, but we have no choice. Our people are dying. But you and I are still the leaders of our clans. We must do whatever is necessary to preserve them, just as our heirs were going to."

Ninjamon ground his teeth together, but had to admit that Kogamon was right, there was no choice, not if they wanted their clans to survive. "Alright, fine, lets do it," he grumbled, holding out his hand. "Just know that I'm not happy about this, you Kogamon scum."

Kogamon reached out and grasped his hand. "Right there with you, Ninjamon trash."

Bands of Fractal Code emerged from their linked hands and wrapped around them. Light shined brightly as the two leaders spoke the words they never thought they would say. _"Ninjamon/Kogamon!_ _ **DNA**_ _Digivolve to… Cherrymon!"_

Two clans, sworn to hate each other for all eternity, now forced to come together to save both. This union took the form of a large tree Digimon. His multiple tree root legs held him tall and proud as he turned to face Ghoulmon as an Ultimate. The surviving Ninjamon and Kogamon stared in sheer disbelief stared as their leaders now stood as one being.

Ghoulmon regarded his new opponent curiously. "So you've become that desperate. Over 5,000 years of hatred, and now you're forced to work as close together as possible. Kind of ironic, isn't it?"

"Or destiny," Cherrymon growled.

The demon Digimon chuckled. "Then lets see how long destiny can last against Death."

Cherrymon gripped his cane tightly. He just had to distract him for a little longer. Just until the others could defeat Housemon.

That was easier said than done. Housemon, it seemed, preferred to use his fists and feet rather than his actual attacks, but nevertheless, he was still a Mega. Sistermon Blanc Awakened and Sistermon Noir Awakened were giving it their all, but as a Rookie and a Champion, they couldn't even scratch the house Digimon.

MagnaAngemon PM, with his passive and peaceful nature, was not engaging directly in battle. He was merely deflecting any attacks thrown at the Sistermon, but not attacking himself. ReverseWeddinmon was the best off of the group, but as an Ultimate, she was still no match for the Mega. That certainly didn't stop her from trying though.

" _Crazy Cracker!"_ she cried, firing the wedding crackers from her right hand. They exploded uselessly against the house Digimon as Housemon lunged at ReverseWeddinmon, throwing a punch.

The cake Digimon jumped back as the giant fist slammed into the ground. Sistermon Noir rushed past her and jumped up onto Housemon's arm, running along its length while firing her _Mickey Bullet_ from her guns.

Sistermon Blanc attacked from below, wielding her triple pronged electrified trident dubbed Cross Barbée. She slashed at Housemon's heels, then leapt into the air to be grabbed by MagnaAngemon PM. He flew above Housemon, then let her go. She stabbed downward with her trident, stabbing into the back of his head with her _Divine Pierce_ attack.

Still firing her Anthony guns, Sistermon Noir reached Housemon's shoulder. The house Digimon ignored the pain in the back of his head as he reached for her. Putting complete trust in the angel Digimon, Sistermon Noir jumped back, still firing, and was snatched up by MagnaAngemon PM.

Housemon grumbled in irritation and reached for Sistermon Blanc behind his head. She pulled her Cross Barbée free and ran down the length of his body. Housemon may have been large and powerful, but he was slow and clumsy. And as he reached for the nun Digimon running down his leg, ReverseWeddinmon struck with her _Fork Dance_ attack, stabbing him with the forks on her left hand. She followed up with an uppercut, knocking the house Digimon back, then repeated her attack.

Before her _Fork Dance_ could find its mark, Housemon grabbed her arm. His fist shot out, slamming into the cake Digimon's face, and she went down. His foot shot out, slamming into her side and kicking her away.

"Leave her be!" Sistermon Noir shouted, taking aim. _"Bless Fire!"_ A continuous line of bullets rapidly shot out of her gun, spraying across Housemon. The Mega turned to her, seeing her up in the sky in MagnaAngemon PM's grasp. Reaching down, he gathered up an armful of debris and began throwing it at them.

MagnaAngemon tossed Sistermon Noir up in the air. She landed on his shoulder as a glowing purple blade slid down his sleeve. _"Gate of Destiny!"_

He drew a circle, creating a gate to the endless empty space of oblivion. The debris Housemon tossed at them was sucked up into it, and the gate shut and vanished afterwards.

Housemon grumbled in annoyance. ReverseWeddinmon was suddenly on her feet again, wrapping her arms around the house Digimon. "Take cover!" she shouted to the others. _"Candle Service Inferno!"_

The candles on her head unleashed fire in all directions. Housemon grunted as the flames consumed him. He elbowed her, knocking the cake Digimon over, then spun around while kicking. ReverseWeddinmon went down, and Housemon lifted his foot and began stomping down on her. Sistermon Noir fired at his back while Sistermon Blanc slashed at his other foot, but Housemon ignored them as he continued to stomp down.

" _Feather Sonic!"_

The attack hit Housemon from behind, and he stumbled forward. Karatenmon had arrived, as per the Kogamon leader's plan. As Housemon turned to him, he flung his feathers at the Mega. Housemon raised his arm to block, and the feathers stabbed into it. Then he felt his energy being drained, and he looked down to see Beastmon latched onto his foot, using her _Vampire Jewel_ to drain him.

He kicked out, and Beastmon went flying. Karatenmon flew in her path to catch her, and carefully set her down before flying at the house Digimon. Housemon swiped at him, still ignoring the two Sistermon attacking him. ReverseWeddinmon was still down and MagnaAngemon PM was attempting to rouse her, to no avail.

"Mind if we give it a try, fellow MagnaAngemon?"

MagnaAngemon PM turned to find the MagnaAngemon of the DigiDestined and Angewomon standing behind him. The other four members of the group were there as well, but he moved to let the two angel Digimon take a look at ReverseWeddinmon.

" _Heaven's Cure!"_ Angewomon cried.

" _Heaven's Heal!"_ MagnaAngemon added.

The two healing powers flowed over the cake Digimon, and she opened her eyes. "Oh my, that feels much better."

Angewomon gave her a smile. "We need everyone to be fighting fit."

MetalGreymon glanced at the battle with Ghoulmon before turning back to Housemon as he swiped at Karatenmon. "We have to do this fast. There's no time to spar. _Giga Destroyer!"_

He fired his missiles. Housemon seemed to sense they were coming and turned just in time to be blasted away. The crow Digimon he had been attempting to catch flew over as everyone regrouped. "We can't hold back or worry about safely." He glanced at Beastmon. "Try to enchant him as best as you can while we attack."

She nodded. "I'll do my best."

"I'll cast a barrier to keep her safe," Sistermon Blanc added.

The two hurried over to Housemon as he got to his feet, getting as close as they dared. _"Protect Wave!"_ Sistermon Blanc cried, stabbing her trident into the ground, and a barrier formed around her and Beatsmon.

" _Witch Warp!"_ the cat Digimon cried, and began dancing.

Grumbling, Housemon reached for them, his hand coming in contact with the nun Digimon's barrier. His gaze fell on Beastmon, and his movements slowed. A low groan escaped him as he stared at her.

"He's enchanted!" Karatenmon declared. "Attack now! _Feather Flare!"_

" _Bless Fire!"_

" _Crazy Cracker!"_

" _Over Flame!"_

" _Desperado Blaster"_

" _Atomic Blaster!"_

" _Pyro Barrage!"_

" _Heaven's Charm!"_

" _Heaven's Gate!"_

The numerous attacks came in a continuous stream. Housemon cried out as the attacks slammed into him. He stumbled backwards and fell over.

"Keep it up," said BurningGreymon. "He's down."

But not for long it seemed. Slowly, the house Digimon sat up, struggling against the onslaught of attacks. He slowly got to his feet, taking one step, then another, moving closer to the group.

"Yo, MagnaAngemon!" Paildramon called to the Priest Mode angel Digimon, "we could use some help."

MagnaAngemon PM looked regretful. "I have sworn never to use violence, even at the cost of my own life."

"How about the cost of ours?"

Housemon stepped closer, running into Sistermon Blanc's shield. He kicked outward and the barrier shattered, sending Beatsmon and the nun Digimon inside flying.

"Oh boy," ReverseWeddinmon grumbled. "This isn't looking very good."

They weren't looking well for Cherrymon and the remaining seven ninja Digimon either. The only thing the new Ultimate brought to the table was further amusement from Ghoulmon. Powerful and arrogant, the demon Digimon took great pleasure in tearing through his opponents.

" _Pit Pelter!"_ Cherrymon cried, unleashing a stream of cherries from his branches.

Ghoulmon just laughed as the small bits of fruit, that if used upon anyone else would amount to being sprayed by a series of bullets, showered against him. His claw shot out, grabbing the tree Digimon, and lifted him in the air as if he were a weed being plucked. "Cut it out, you're tickling me."

"Unhand him!" a Ninjamon shouted, leaping at the demon Digimon with his sword drawn. Ghoulmon's other claw simply came crashing down on him, and the ninja Digimon hit the ground hard. Ghoulmon lifted his foot and brought it down on him, ending yet another clan member.

"Down to six," he taunted, noting the four remaining Kogamon and two Ninjamon. His giant eye looked at Cherrymon. "Your men are dropping like flies."

The tree Digimon glared. "You'll fall too. _Vine Attack!"_

Vines flew from his branches and smacked Ghoulmon's giant eye. He squinted slightly and threw the tree Digimon down. "I already have." He placed his foot on top of Cherrymon and began applying pressure. "Now I think I'll do some gardening."

" _Makibishi!"_ a Kogamon cried, throwing several caltrops.

Ghoulmon glanced at his attacker. "Fine, you can go first." He held up his claw and fired his _Death Arrow_. The Kogamon danced around as the arrows flew past it, but one found its mark and the ninja Digimon burst into data.

Ghoulmon laughed. "Another one down." He looked down at Cherrymon, grinding his foot into him. "You're a rather incompetent leader, aren't you?"

"How dare you insult our master!"

Ghoulmon looked up. Standing on a portion of what was left of a wall were the last three Kogamon. On the ground, the two remaining Ninjamon attacked the foot that was not on top of Cherrymon with their _Iga-Style Sword Draw_. As Ghoulmon's attention shifted to them, and the Kogamon leapt at him, splitting into shadow copies. With swords drawn, they attacked his wings, stabbing their blades into them and letting gravity pull them down.

Ghoulmon snarled, seemingly angry now, and stepped back, removing his foot from Cherrymon, and swiped at the Kogamon. He mostly struck the shadow copies, but managed to hit one. He fired his _Explosion Eye_ , but the ninja Digimon and the shadow copies danced about, avoiding the traveling laser.

Cherrymon got to his feet as Ghoulmon continued to attack the others. His laser found one, and another Kogamon was destroyed. Only three Kogamon and two Ninjamon were left. They were running out of time. A little longer and they would all be destroyed.

Cherrymon glanced at Housemon. The house Digimon was slowly making his way towards the group of Ultimates as a continuous stream of attacks flowed against him. This wasn't working. They would never be able to defeat Housemon like this, let alone the far more powerful Ghoulmon. If only one of them was a Mega too.

"That's it!" the tree Digimon gasped. He turned back to the demon Digimon. "Hey, Ghoulmon! _Illusion Mist!"_

A thick fog flowed out of his branches and over to Ghoulmon. The demon Digimon turned to him as the mist settled over him. He squinted, trying to see through the fog. "You think this will help you? _Death Arrow!"_

His stream of arrows flew through the air. A loud wail echoed all around, and Ghoulmon blinked a few times, squinting harder. He saw the larger form of Housemon collapsing as his arrows along with several attacks from the Ultimate Digimon he was fighting caused him to dissolve into data.

The demon Digimon flapped his wings, clearing the area of Cherrymon's mist. He saw the tree Digimon standing off to the side, well out of range from the attack he had thought he had fired upon him. "Very impressive, Cherrymon. I have to give you credit; you deceived me."

The Ultimate Digimon came over to join Cherrymon and the last five ninja Digimon. "You don't seem too beat up over the loss of your comrade," MetalGreymon growled. "Or any of your comrades for that matter."

Ghoulmon chuckled. "On the contrary, I'm kind of glad they're gone. Now I can have you all to myself."

"Careful," BurningGreymon told him. "You're dealing with 11 Ultimates now."

The demon Digimon roared with laughter. "And you think that concerns me? You humans truly underestimate the power of a Mega. Especially a Mega like me. Let me show you just how hopeless your situation is."

Standing behind Grimmon, Shoutmon's eyes widened. "Oh no. He's not going to…"

" _Ghoulmon Digivolve to… Ghoulmon Black!"_

The dragon Digimon slapped his head. "Yup, he did."

 **(A/N: The sh*t just hit the fan. If you didn't know, Ghoulmon Black is a god of destruction that has occasionally been given the title of Demon Lord. Not one of the Seven, but that's still bad. Like, very bad. I'm being completely serious when I say that our heroes are well and truly screwed. How are they going to get out of this? That is something you'll have to wait until next week to find out.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear or are mentioned.** **Replace the _DOT _ in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/Cherry**

 **digimon _DOT_ wikia _DOT_ com/wiki/** **Ghoulmon#Ghoulmon_.28Black.29**


	63. Chapter 63: Happily Ever After?

**(A/N: A three chapter ongoing battle. I think this is the longest one yet. Or maybe not, would have to go back an check. But will it have a happy ending? The conclusion if here.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 63: Happily Ever After?**

Not much had changed about Ghoulmon physically after becoming Ghoulmon Black. The only notable difference was that his skin had gone from light gray to black. Other than that, he looked exactly the same.

WarGrowlmon blinked. "Wait, he's a Mega, and he Digivolved again?"

"Shoutmon said they could do that," MagnaAngemon reminded him. "Go from one Mega form to an even more powerful Mega form."

"Big deal," Paildramon grumbled. "So now he's black instead of gray. It couldn't have made that much of a difference."

Shoutmon jumped out of Grimmon's coils and ran up the length of his body, hopping onto his head. "Hey, don't be fooled by his appearance! He may not have changed much physically, but he's a lot more powerful now."

Paildramon glanced at him. "Oh, come on. How much stronger could he be?"

"And shouldn't his name be BlackGhoulmon?" Angewomon asked, remembering BlackAgumon and BlackGreymon.

Shoutmon grunted. "How many times must we go through this? I don't name them. Their names are written in their code. And yes, he's a _lot_ stronger now. In this form, he's considered a god of destruction."

The others looked back at the demon Digimon. "A god of destruction?" BurningGreymon repeated. "Well, that's not good."

"You have no idea," Ghoulmon growled, sounding far less playful. _"Death Wave!"_

He raised his arms and unleashed a confusion inducing radio wave. It flowed over the group, and they became disorientated. Ghoulmon leapt at them, landing on top of WarGrowlmon, tackling him to the ground. His arm shot out, backhanding MetalGreymon to the left of him, and his other arm raised to fire a much more powerful version of his _Death Arrow_ upon the Digimon to his right.

" _Mickey Bullet!"_ Sistermon Noir cried, firing upon the demon Digimon.

Ghoulmon looked at her and unleashed his _Black Claw_ , a more powerful version of his _Grey Claw_. Sistermon Blanc rushed in front of her fellow nun Digimon and used _Protect Wave_ to create a barrier. Ghoulmon's attack easily broke through it, and the two nun Digimon were sent flying from the backlash.

" _Feather Flare!"_ Karatenmon cried, shooting his feathers.

Ghoulmon didn't even turn to him, holding up his claw and using the eye in his palm to see. He fired his _Death Arrow_ , and Karatenmon maneuvered around the arrows until he was struck down by one.

Beneath the demon Digimon, WarGrowlmon struggled. He used his _Megalo Spark_ to electrify him, but this did little more than to draw Ghoulmon's attention back to him.

"I am Death," the demon Digimon told him emotionlessly. It seemed his entire personality had changed, and he raised his claw for the killing blow, but MetalGreymon fired his _Mega Claw_ , and the metal limb on a cable wrapped around Ghoulmon's arm, holding it back.

" _Atomic Blaster!"_ WarGrowlmon cried, firing beams of plasma from his chest. Ghoulmon was blasted off him, but flapped his wings a few times and easily stuck the landing. MagnaAngemon flew at him and struck with his _Judgment Slash_ , but Ghoulmon easily blocked the attack and retaliated with his _Black Claw_ , knocking him away.

"Let me show you why I hold the title of a god of destruction." He turned to the others. _"Explosion Eye!"_

Rather than a single explosive laser shot from his pupil, Ghoulmon's entire eye glowed brightly before unleashing a massive beam. The others dove out of the way as the beam tore through the air past them, disappearing upon the horizon. It struck something far in the distance, and a massive mushroom cloud rose up, the resounding blast was that much bigger than his previous form's blast as the beam was to his laser.

Paildramon stared at the explosion in shock. "Whoa, talk about upgrading your attack."

"I told you!" Shoutmon called. "He was just playing with you before. Ghoulmon may be wicked, but he usually stays neutral between the Darkness and the Light. But once he assumes his Black form, he becomes-"

"Death," Ghoulmon finished for him. "I become Death."

Paildramon turned back to him. "Well, here's my _Electric Bolt!"_

"And my _Wildfire Tsunami!"_ BurningGreymon added.

The demon Digimon unleashed his _Death Wave_ again, and the two attacks were halted by it. Ghoulmon charged towards them, grabbing both dragon Digimon. He slammed Paildramon down and dragged him across the ground, leaving a deep groove, before slamming him down several more times, hard enough to crack the ground. Keeping a firm grip on BurningGreymon, he fired his _Death Arrow_ at point blank range directly into his torso. Both dragon Digimon reverted back to their human forms.

" _Giga Blaster!"_ MetalGreymon cried, shooting his missiles as ReverseWeddinmon fired her _Crazy Cracker_. Ghoulmon stumbled back as the attacks exploded against him, leaving Davis on the ground, but keeping hold of Takuya. Angewomon fired a _Celestial Arrow_ at his hand, and he dropped the boy. MagnaAngemon PM caught him before he hit the ground and brought him over to Davis. Gathering up both boys, he retreated over to Shoutmon and Grimmon to keep them safe.

Beastmon rushed around Ghoulmon and leapt onto his tail. Using her _Mind Fogger_ , she bit down on the end and began drinking his blood. Up above, Karatenmon circled overhead, repeatedly sending out shockwaves at the demon Digimon while Cherrymon fired his _Pit Pelter_.

Ghoulmon growled and flicked his tail, sending Beastmon crashing into the remains of a wall that instantly collapsed on top of her. Karatenmon's attention was immediately diverted to his love and he headed in her direction. Ghoulmon looked up at him, and his eyes began glowing as he prepared to unleash his _Explosion Eye_.

"Look out!" a Ninjamon cried, leaping at the demon Digimon and throwing a _Smoke Ball_. It exploded in Ghoulmon's eye just before he fired his attack, sending it slightly off course. Karatenmon came to a sudden stop in the air as the explosive beam passed by mere inches in front of him.

Though he had saved Karatenmon, the Ninjamon suddenly found himself in Ghoulmon's clutches as the demon Digimon's claw shot out and grabbed him. Before he even realized he had been caught, Ghoulmon crushed him in his grip, and the ninja Digimon burst into data. Only one Ninjamon remained.

"Not another one!" Cherrymon shouted.

ReverseWeddinmon charged at the demon Digimon. "I'll avenge him! I'll avenge them all! _Candle Service Infer-"_

" _Black Claw!"_ Ghoulmon's claw stabbed into the cake Digimon, interrupting her attack. He lifted her into the air and threw her away.

Cherrymon glared at the demon Digimon before waving the others over. "Come, lets attack together."

It was worth a shot, and all those able bunched up and attacked. _"Bless Fire!"_

" _Feather Sonic!"_

" _Pit Pelter!"_

" _Makibishi!"_

" _Ninja Knife Throwing!_

" _Giga Destroyer!"_

" _Atomic Blaster!"_

" _Heaven's Charm!"_

" _Soul Vanisher!"_

The attacks came all at once, exploding in Ghoulmon's giant eye with a mighty blast. The group cheered, thinking they had managed to deal some damage, but when the smoke cleared, Ghoulmon didn't even have a scratch on him; he hadn't even moved.

"That's impossible!" WarGrowlmon exclaimed.

" _Death Wave!"_ Ghoulmon's confusion radio wave flowed out and over the group. They cried out in torment, not noticing as the demon Digimon's eye began glowing. _"Explosion Eye!"_

The massive beam flew at the group, but by the time they realized the danger, it was too late to act. The beam was coming for them, and something large moved in its path. ReverseWeddinmon cried out as the beam struck her while simultaneously unleashing her _Candle Service Inferno_ to counter the resulting explosion.

"ReverseWeddinmon!" the Sistermon shouted.

Despite the situation, the cake Digimon smiled. "Don't worry, I'll come back as soon as I can, and we'll do more mating ceremony party planning. See you lat-"

That was all she was able to get out before dissolving into data. The others stared at the lingering data, not even reacting as Ghoulmon absorbed it. "Guess there will be no cake."

"You killed her!" Sistermon Noir shouted.

"Murderer!" cried Sistermon Blanc.

The two took a fighting stance, their movements mirroring the other. _"Grand Sister Cruz!"_ they shouted together, using their unison attack. They charged at Ghoulmon, still matching each other's moves, as if they were mirror images. Ghoulmon lashed out at them, and they leapt up onto his arm, running up its length. They jumped up, kicking Ghoulmon in his large eye, Sistermon Blanc slashing with her Cross Barbée, Sistermon Noir firing her guns. Ghoulmon barely reacted short of smacking the two of them away.

A distance away, MagnaAngemon PM dropped to his knees. "ReverseWeddinmon, no…" He lowered his head. "How could this have happened? Weddinmon, Shortmon, and Candlemon have been working with the Sistermon and I for centuries."

Shoutmon glared at him. "Then why don't you go out there and help them? You're an Ultimate, and a very strong one at that; they could use your power."

"You know it's not in his nature," Grimmon told him.

The dragon Digimon glared at him. "And it's in yours to be vicious and violent, yet here you are sitting on the sidelines. You got over your nature by choice, so can he."

Grimmon returned the glare. "You know it's not that simple." He looked back at the others. "I'm afraid they're on their own."

" _Mega Claw!"_ MetalGreymon cried, firing his arm. Ghoulmon grabbed it and yanked, pulling the cyborg dinosaur Digimon towards him by his cable, and then used his _Black Claw_ to slam MetalGreymon to the ground. WarGrowlmon rushed at him, using his _Radiation Blade_ , but Ghoulmon swung MetalGreymon around like a lasso, slamming him into the angel Digimon. Cherrymon began firing his _Pit Pelter_ from below while Karatenmon shot feathers from up above. Ghoulmon's large eye darted from one to the other, trying to decide which to attack, when Angewomon's _Celestial Arrow_ struck him in the center of his pupil.

MagnaAngemon's own eyes widened and he waved his fellow angel Digimon over. "Angewomon, I have an idea."

She flew down to him. "What is it? I'm open to anything."

"Well, it seems like we've been on a role with using these guys' attacks against each other, so here's my plan."

He whispered it to her as Ghoulmon unleashed his _Death Wave_ on both Cherrymon and Karatenmon, and the two of them grasped their heads, the latter falling from the sky.

"Got it?" the cyborg dinosaur Digimon asked.

She nodded. "But what if he doesn't use it?"

"We have to try. Just be ready." His thrusters ignited and he flew up into the sky. Firing his _Soul Vanisher_ , he drew Ghoulmon's attention. "This is the end, Ghoulmon! I'm not going out like Reverse Weddinmon!"

The demon Digimon took a step towards him. "Oh, you're not?" His eye began glowing. That was Angewomon's cue. As MagnaAngemon drew a circle, she ran towards Ghoulmon and used _Super Jump_ to launch herself into the air until she was right in front of his eye, directly in his line of fire. _"Explosion Eye!"_

" _Heaven's Charm!"_

The two attacks collided, exploding right in Ghoulmon's face. Behind Angewomon, MagnaAngemon's _Great Golden Gate_ had opened, allowing Angewomon to fly into it to escape the blast. Ghoulmon went crashing to the ground, finally having taken damage. He lay still with his large eye closed, facing the sky.

WarGrowlmon slashed at the sky. "Yeah, we got him."

MagnaAngemon smiled and gave the cyborg dinosaur Digimon a nod as Angewomon emerged from the other end of the golden gate beside him. "That was a good plan," she told him.

"It was," MetalGreymon agreed, limping over to them. He looked at Ghoulmon. "He definitely felt that one."

Cherrymon pointed at the fallen demon Digimon. "Now lets finish him off."

Ghoulmon's eye snapped open. "Finish me?" He got to his feet, looking only slightly worse for wear. "You finally do some damage, and you think I'm finished. Poor, simple fools. I am Death. I am the one who does the finishing." He held up his claws. "And I'll finish this now. _Death Arrow!"_

The arrows began flying. The others cried out as they whizzed by, avoiding most, but still getting struck. Ghoulmon did not let up, continuously firing. The number of arrows that found their marks increased as more damage was delivered, slowing down their movements, allowing more arrows to hit.

"This is the end for you," Ghoulmon told them as he continued to fire.

A distance away, a pile of rubble shifted, and Beastmon emerged from it, breathing heavily. She shook her head and looked to the battle, horrified to see her friends pinned down by Ghoulmon's barrage of arrows. "Karatenmon! Cherrymon! Everyone!"

She fell over as she tried to get them. This was hopeless, they just couldn't beat Ghoulmon; he was far too powerful. It wouldn't be long now before he killed them all.

"No choice then," she whispered. Climbing to her feet, she ran up to Ghoulmon, getting only as close as she needed to. It was time to use the power everyone feared her for. It would require time and a great deal of energy that she didn't know if she would be able to spare, which was why she hadn't done it before, but she had to now.

Summoning up the deepest reaches of her power, she called upon her special attack. Her body began glowing as an aura surrounded her. "Ghoulmon!" She wanted him to see her, and when he turned around, she unleashed her power. _"Helter Skelter!"_

The aura leapt off her body and flowed over Ghoulmon. The demon Digimon's giant eye widened as it flowed over him, and he felt it altering his very code. "What?!"

His body began glowing, similar to Digivolution, but instead he went backwards. His body shrank, getting smaller and smaller as he reverted. When the DeDigivolution stopped, he had been reduced to his Rookie level, and was now in the form of a pink bird Digimon known as Biyomon, looking far more adorable than it was threatening.

The DeDigivolved Digimon looked at his wing-like hands and gasped. "This can't be!"

Beastmon's strength left her, and she dropped to one knee. This was her special power, the one the others feared she would use. It took a great deal of energy, but she could DeDigivolve other Digimon back to the Rookie level. And being an Ultimate, she could then destroy them very easily.

But it wouldn't last. Biyomon could Digivolve back to the Mega level in as little as thirty seconds. Her attack may revert others to the Rookie level, but there was nothing stopping them from Digivolving back to their previous form. _Helter Skelter_ was meant to be a combo move, first to DeDigivolve an opponent, then to quickly destroy them with another attack before they Digivolved again.

But she had no strength left. The battle had taken its toll, and that last attack had used up all her energy. Any more, and she would no longer be able to maintain her Ultimate level form.

She looked to the others, but they were down for the count. The onslaught of Ghoulmon's attack had brought them down, and they no longer had any strength left to fight. Her last ditch effort to defeat Ghoulmon was a waste. There was no one left to fight. Any moment now, he would Digivolve back to the Mega level again and wipe them all out.

Something whizzed past her, moving quickly towards Biyomon. The bird Digimon looked up, his eyes widening as MagnaAngemon PM flew towards him, a sword appearing in his hand.

" _Excalibur's Grace!"_ he cried, slashing at the Rookie. The bird Digimon screeched loudly and exploded into data. And just like that, the battle concluded.

Shoutmon's mouth dropped open as he stared at the angel Digimon. Regardless of what he had said before, he had not expected MagnaAngemon PM to actually fight. They were passive Digimon that abhorred violence. Unlike MagnaAngemon in his natural Battle Mode, who had a variety of attacks, MagnaAngemon Priest Mode only possessed two; _Gate of Destiny,_ to seal away evil, and the one he had just used. It must have taken a great deal for him to go against his peaceful nature.

"He did it," the dragon Digimon whispered, climbing out of Grimmon's protective coils.

The reaper Digimon seemed just as shocked. "Yes… he did… I didn't think he would."

It seemed, though, that the angel Digimon was regretting what he had done as he stared at his sword. Shoutmon ignored him for now as he went to check on his friends. "Hey, you guys ok?"

Lying down, MetalGreymon grunted. "What's going on? Where's Ghoulmon?"

The dragon Digimon smirked. "He's gone to pieces. We won. Shame I couldn't get to his data though. That would have been quite a power boost."

The cyborg dinosaur Digimon relaxed. "Thank goodness for that." He reverted back to human form. "Man, those arrows really hurt."

One by one, the teens became human again. "Geez, Shoutmon," Takato grumbled. "I know you told us that Megas were strong, and we got an idea with VenomMyotismon, Argomon, and Housemon, but _that_ was ridiculous. We couldn't even scratch him."

Shoutmon nodded. "I told you. You've been really lucky so far, but today you faced the real deal."

"Beastmon!" Karatenmon exclaimed suddenly, using his swords to help him get to his feet. "Where's Beastmon?"

The cat Digimon stumbled over to him. "I'm here, my love."

He went to her and they collapsed against each other, holding the other up as they embraced. Grimmon slithered over to the group, carrying Davis under one arm and Takuya under the other. "What do you want me to do with these two?"

Tai looked at his unconscious friends. "Just set them down there, I guess." He winced as the reaper Digimon simply dropped them. "Not quite what I had in mind."

The two Sistermon changed back from their Awakened and walked over to MagnaAngemon, looking concerned. "Sir, are you ok?" Sistermon Noir asked.

The angel Digimon stared at his sword before dropping it. "I broke my vow. I used violence. I didn't just use it, I took a life."

"And saved many in the process," Cherrymon told him.

MagnaAngemon shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I still killed another."

The tree Digimon stomped his cane on the ground. "And how many would you have killed if you didn't act? Just look at my clan." He motioned to the three remaining Kogamon and the single Ninjamon. "Fourteen of us were killed in this battle, as well as ReverseWeddinmon. That's 15 dead. You stopped that number from being higher. If you hadn't acted, we would have died too, and our blood would have been on your hands; murder through failure to act."

Shoutmon nodded. "He's right. If you have the power to save someone, but you don't act, then you as good as killed them yourself. You _saved_ us."

The Sistermon pulled on the angel Digimon's arm. "He's right."

"You did good."

Grimmon slithered by. "Look at it this way, if you hadn't acted, I would have. The end result would have been the same either way."

MagnaAngemon seemed to consider this. In the end, he took a deep breath and raised his head to the sky. "It doesn't matter. I'll have to live with this regardless. But I will make amends." He looked at the destroyed sanctuary. "I will begin by rebuilding the sanctuary, exactly the way it was before. Better. So when Weddinmon, Shortmon, and Candlemon return, they will have an even grander establishment."

Sistermon Noir smiled. "We'll help you."

"Yes, help you," Sistermn Blanc agreed.

The angel Digimon placed a hand on their heads and smiled back. "I know you will. Thank you, my little ones."

Kari sighed in relief. "Good, it looks like everything will be ok."

TK nodded. "Yeah, but I can understand where he's coming from. I hate all this fighting too, but sometimes it's necessary."

"Speaking of fighting," said Takato, glancing at Cherrymon and the four remaining ninja Digimon, "what's going to happen with them?"

All attention shifted to the tree Digimon. Though combined, he was still the leader of both the Ninjamon Clan and the Kogamon Clan. Many secrets and lies had been brought to light this day, and there were hundreds of ninja Digimon back at the two villages that still had no idea about any of it.

The three Kogamon and the Ninjamon looked to Cherrymon for instruction. He in turn looked to Karatenmon and Beastmon, who were still holding each other. Finally, he sighed. "It's strange being what I am, considering who I was. Being both the Ninjamon Clan leader and the Kogamon Clan leader, I have great love for both, but I still feel the same hatred that has consumed both clans for the past 5,000 years." He closed his eyes. "Perhaps it is better if I remain as I am instead of splitting back into two. I feel I will be able to make peace with both sides, and with myself."

"But what of Volcanusmon's orders, master?" a Kogamon asked.

Cherrymon opened his eyes and looked to the sky. "Despite all that Asuramon did, I feel he was right about one thing. We really did rely on Volcanusmon too much, rather than work things out for ourselves. Perhaps we did need him until now, so consumed by hatred for each other we were. But I think now we can move on. This feud is finished. We shall have peace between us."

"And the no Digivolving law?" the remaining Ninjamon asked. "You have violated it."

The tree Digimon nodded. "That is true, but Volcanusmon allowed our heirs to achieve Ultimate. They were the only exceptions. We shall continue to uphold this law, for it has brought balance and peace to our clans. I will remained as I am, and act as a medium between our two clans, and my heirs shall remain as they are as well, a status of their leadership."

Beastmon raised an eyebrow. "Heirs? You speak of myself and Asuramon?"

A scowl crossed Cherrymons face. "Asuramon will never be welcome in either clan again." He looked at Karatenmon. "The Ninjamon heir I speak of is you, Karatenmon."

The crow Digimon sucked in a breath. "Me?"

The tree Digimon nodded. "I was a fool not to see it before. Karatenmon, you possess the wisdom and heart needed to lead. It will require some training, but I will be honored to call you the future leader of the Ninjamon."

The crow Digimon cast his eyes downward. "Truthfully, master, I never wanted to be leader out of a desire to rule. Leadership is meant to be a title to guard and protect the clan, not one of power and control. When I Digivolved in the hopes that you would choose me as the Ninjamon heir instead of Asuramon, it was a desperate attempt to gain Beastmon's hand."

The cat Digimon took his hand. "Darling…"

The tree Digimon smiled. "Your words are wise and true. Being a leader should not be for the sake of power, but for the sake of your clan. It was for that reason why heirs were chosen with no argument when Volcanusmon decreed it. The fact that you understand this only makes me more certain that I'm making the right choice."

Squeezing Beastmon's hand tightly, Karatenmon bowed his head. "You honor me, master. I will do everything in my power to make you proud and be a worthy leader. However, I have a proposition." He glanced at Beastmon, then back at Cherrymon. "I wish to be with Beastmon always. With us as leaders of both clans, it would require us to be away from one village for extended periods of time while we're in the other. But both your Ninjamon side and your Kogamon side have been wise and mighty leaders. The only reason Volcanusmon decreed that you were to step down was because he hoped that new leadership would lessen the hatred between our clans. But now that the feud is over, and the two of you have become one, I think you should remain as leader. Beastmon and I will rule one village while you rule the other. We will switch villages on a monthly basis to keep things balanced, and so nothing like this will ever happen again." He turned to Beastmon. "Do you accept this, my love?"

She clapped her hands together. "I think it's a fabulous idea!"

Cherrymon stared at him for a moment before bowing his head. "Already you are proving your worth. You shall indeed be a fine leader. Very well, I accept your proposal. And knowing Volcanusmon, he would have given his blessings as well. What more, I think he would be proud of you, of all of us."

The Kogamon and Ninjamon walked over. Almost as one, they stabbed their swords into the ground, got down on one knee, and bowed to the three Ultimates. "We pledge our loyalty to you."

Karatenmon sweat-dropped. "This is going to take some getting used to."

Beastmon gleefully hugged his arm. "I have faith in you."

Tai let out a sigh of relief and placed his hands on his hips. "It looks like everything is going to work out after all."

Shoutmon nodded. "Yeah. It'll probably take some time for all the animosity between both clans to disappear completely, but at least now there will be real genuine peace."

"Truth be told," said Grimmon, "I didn't think it would happen, even with Volcanusmon's decree. I thought he gave me an impossible mission."

TK chuckled. "Well, I could see why. It didn't look like they would ever get along, but I'm glad things worked out in the end."

Kari clapped her hands, feeling giddy. "Hey, now there can be a _real_ wedding; the way one is supposed to be." In a moment of irony, a portion of the sanctuary wall collapsed. Kari sweat-dropped. "Well, almost."

Karatenmon took Beastmon's hand in his. "I don't need a traditional mating ceremony in a sanctuary or temple. You're already my mate in all ways that matter."

Her eyes shined brightly. "I feel the same. Lets have the ceremony right here. Right now."

"If that is what you desire, my love."

She looked behind him at Cherrymon. "Master?"

The tree Digimon bowed his head to her. "You are master as now as well. The decision is yours. Even as the leader, I see now that I had no right to make it for you."

MagnaAngemon smiled as the two Sistermon jumped up and down beside him joyfully. "Then let us begin this ceremony again."

"Wait," Takato said suddenly, "what about Davis and Takuya?"

They looked to their unconscious friends. Both were still out cold; Davis was snoring loudly.

"Hey, wake up," said Shoutmon, smacking their faces. This managed to awaken Takuya, but Davis just kept right on snoring.

"How can he snore when he's been knocked unconscious?" Tai wondered out loud.

"Here," said Cherrymon, "try this. _Cherry Blast!"_ A strange fruit grew on one of his branches, and he plucked it off, holding it in front of Davis' face. "Knowing what I do about your friend, nothing is stronger than his stomach."

The aroma from the fruit was mouthwatering. The teens suddenly felt like they were starving as its scent hit them, and they became willing to do almost anything for just as taste. Cherrymon continued to wave it around in front of Davis' face. Even in sleep, his nose followed it as it was waved back and forth, his mouth opening and closing as if to bite it.

"Careful," Cherrymon told the others. "It smells sweet, but it's deadly if eaten."

Davis bit at the air and Cherrymon pulled the fruit back. Slowly, his eyes opened, and he looked up into the face of the tree Digimon. "What happened?"

"Long story short," said Tai, "we won."

Kari giggled. "Come on, we'll give you the details later. We've got a wedding to attend." She looked at the crow and cat Digimon and smiled. "They've waited long enough."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

He was out of breath, tired, and in pain, but he had made it. And he had his prize. Down to three arms, Asuramon entered further into the cave, wondering what his ally would say when they saw him.

Things had not gone according to plan. No, they had completely fallen apart. Everything had gone to ruin because of that lousy human walking in on him and Soundbirdmon. If only he had managed to kill him before Karatenmon had shown up.

"Karatenmon," the demon Digimon growled, rubbing the stump where his arm used to be; it would take a vast amount of data to restore it. He should have known that lovesick fool would get in his way. He'd had the perfect plan, one that had been years in the making, but now it was all for naught.

Well, not completely for naught. He had what he needed. In two of his remaining hands, he held both halves of the scroll. It had been a simple matter getting the one from the Ninjamon village; he was the future leader after all, and he had known where it was hidden. It hadn't taken much to convince the Ninjamon to let him leave with it, claiming that the leader needed it.

Getting the Kogamon's half had been much more difficult. The distrust the Kogamon had for him, being of the Ninjamon Clan, was great. He'd had to humble and humiliate himself as he spun a fantasy story of an enemy Digimon that had showed up to kill the clan leaders and heirs while they were away from the villages. He'd actually had to bow down and plead with the Kogamon scum, begging them to hand over their half.

As far as the Kogamon in the village knew, the mating ceremony had taken place, just as intended, and both he and Beastmon were now the leaders of both clans. He told them that the Kogammon leader had ordered him to get the scroll to a new hiding place before the enemy Digimon could get to it. He showed them the Ninjamon's half of the scroll as proof that he was going to hide them in a secret location until the enemy Digimon was dealt with.

His argument that their mission to protect the scroll for Volcanusmon took precipice over their clans' hatred for each other had done it. It hadn't been easy, and it had taken a long time, but he managed to convince them that what he said was true. They had wanted to wait for their leader or Beastmon to confirm that what he said was true, but he assured them that there was no time. He had made himself out to be a weakling and a coward, showing off his injuries to them and throwing away all self-respect. That had definitely helped sway the Kogamon with the way he lowered himself. In the end, they had turned it over to them. After all, Volcanusmon had entrusted the scroll to both clans.

And now here he was, with both halves of the scroll, going to meet his ally. This may not have worked out as he planned, but he still needed to fulfill his end of the bargain. Soundbirdmon had been right; to not do so would be very foolish indeed. His very life would be at stake if he didn't.

"I see things didn't go as expected."

Asuramon stopped and turned. Sitting on what seemed to be a throne carved into the cave wall was another Digimon wielding a lethal looking scythe. No, they weren't sitting, they were lounging on it, their legs hanging over one armrest while their head hung over the other. A large sinister grin was plastered on their face as they stared at Asuramon in amusement.

The demon Digimon turned to him. "That is an understatement. The entire plan is ruined."

The lounging Digimon chuckled. "Oh my, how tragic. But things are always more interesting when they take unexpected turns, don't you think?"

A cloud of steam escaped Asuramon's nostrils. "Interesting?! I'm an outcast! Do you have any idea of what I lost? Everything!"

The Digimon frowned. Moving in a way that suggested extreme flexibility, they hopped off the throne. The end of their scythe landed right in front of Asuramon, the weapon standing upright. The Digimon clung to it like a profession aerobics master, glaring down at Asuramon from the top of the scythe. "Is that any way to speak to me? Where are your manners? Don't forget who I am, who I represent."

Asuramon winced. Slowly, he lowered himself into a bow. "I… apologize. It has been a rough day. Forgive me."

The Digimon smirked and placed a hand to his ear as if he couldn't hear. "Hmm?"

Asuramon's fists clenched. "Forgive me, Jokermon, sir."

The Digimon that appeared to be a cross between a clown and a jester grinned once more. "Well, I guess I'll accept your apology since you have a boo-boo." He roared with laughter, as if this were the most hilarious thing in the world. Hopping off his scythe, he pulled the weapon out of the ground. "If you want, I can even things out for you."

He swung his scythe, and Asuramon ducked. "That won't be necessary."

Jokermon frowned. "You're such a party pooper." He sighed. "Oh, very well, straight to business." His grin returned as he spoke with a forced mafia accent. "I believe you have something that belongs to my boss."

Scowling, the demon Digimon handed over the two scrolls. "Both halves, as promised."

Jokermon snatched them up, dropping the aceent. "Ah, yes. These will make the boss very happy. Almost as happy as me." He winked. "It's simply not possible to be as happy as me, but this should improve his mood." His grin widened. "Any idea why he's so moody?"

Asuramon shook his head, and the clown Digimon chuckled. "Apparently, everyone he sent to wipe out the Kogamon for you was destroyed. He's quite distraught by their loss, especially with Ghoulmon's."

Asuramon looked up in surprise. "They were destroyed? All of them?"

Jokermon nodded. "Afraid so. Even your old friend, ShadowWereGarurumon. Such a tragedy. Of course, this may have been avoided if you hadn't fled because of the loss of one lousy arm." He snickered. "For all of your ninja honor, you're nothing but a coward when things don't go your way. Who would have thought that a couple of humans would cause so much trouble?"

The demon Digimon's eyes widened. "How do you know so much?"

Jokermon's grin widened. "The boss has eyes and ears everywhere. It seems you've forgotten that. Honestly, you'd lose your head if it wasn't attached to your neck."

There was a flash of light as the dim glow of the torches reflected off the metal of Jokermon's scythe. The movement was so fast that Asuramon didn't even realize it was happening until it was too late. His severed head fell from his shoulders, bouncing on the ground, and his body collapsed beside it.

"Oops," said Jokermon, "looks like you did anyway." He roared with laughter as Asuramon's body dissolved into data.

 **(A/N: Ooh, the plot thickens. It looks like things didn't go Asuramon's way at all. And now Jokermon has the scrolls. But who is his master, and what role will he play? You could look at this as the end of the Asuramon arc, or as the mid-point of a bigger arc featuring this mysterious master. At least things have worked out for the two clans, minus losing the scrolls of course. In case you couldn't tell, since I based this arc off** _ **Basilisk**_ **, I was trying to replicate the way Oboro defeated Tenzen with how Beastmon used her power to defeat Ghoulmon. That was planned from the start. At least she and Karatenmon got a happier ending than Oboro and Gennosuke did. But you know our heroes can't just leave things as is. They've got some scrolls to find, and it might just get them into even bigger trouble.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear or are mentioned. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Jokermon**


	64. Chapter 64: The History of Jesmas

**(A/N: Who's up for a Christmas in July party? Well, ok, so it's August now, but I have had a Christmas in July party before. Why am I bringing up Christmas? Just read the chapter title. It's a pun. What, you don't get it? You will once you read the chapter.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 64: The History of Jesmas**

It seemed the teens had gained another traveling companion in Grimmon. The reaper Digimon had said that he would help them get to Cherubimon's castle, and it seemed like he meant it. There was just something that needed to be taken care of before that.

They had gone to the Ninjamon village first. There was a lot that needed to be explained, particularly about Asuramon's treachery. The Ninjamon were shocked and astounded to see Cherrymon, not to mention to find out that it was Karatenmon who had been mated to Beastmon instead of Asuramon. But it wasn't just the newly mated pair or the merged Ninjamon and Kogamon leaders that surprised them. According to Asuramon when he had been there, they had all been destroyed by an enemy Digimon, and their leader's last order had been for Asuramon to retrieve the scroll and hide it so the enemy Digimon couldn't get it.

Fearing the worst, the group had hurried over to the Kogamon village, only to find that a similar story had been told to the Kogamon, and Asuramon had made off with their half of the scroll as well.

Cherrymon punched the wall furiously. "How could we have been so blind to Asuramon's trickery for so long?"

Tai sighed. "Blinded by hatred. Asuramon had the Kogamon and Ninjamon so focused on each other that they couldn't see what was right in front of them."

Beastmon's hands were covering her mouth. "What are we going to do?"

The tree Digimon sat down. "There's nothing we can do. Asuramon could be anywhere by now. Who knows what he plans to do with the scrolls. We've failed Volcanusmon."

Silence fell over the group. After all that, everything they had been through, Asuramon had won. Or at least his ally did. The Ninjamon and Kogamon now had peace, and Beastmon and Karatenmon had gotten to be together, but Asuramon's ally, whoever they were, now had the scrolls.

"It may not be too late," said Grimmon. Everyone looked at him. "I have an idea of where he might have gone. I can take you there, and we can get back the scrolls."

Cherrymon got up. "Where? Where is this place?"

Grimmon motioned into the distance. "A few days journey based on these humans' walking speed."

"Hey!" Davis objected.

The reaper Digimon ignored him. "A group of evil Digimon ruled over by someone very powerful staked their claim there two years ago. I'm certain that's who Asuramon's ally is."

The others shared uncertain looks. "What do you think?" Takato asked.

"Well," said Takuya, "if we're wrong, we'll be no better off than we are now. At least there's a chance."

"I agree," Karatenmon replied. "We should leave immediately."

Tai shook his head. "No, leave this to us. We'll go get the scrolls."

Cherrymon tapped his cane on the ground. "Volcanusmon entrusted them to us. We have a responsibility."

Kari placed a hand on his. "You're responsibility if to your people first. Let us handle this."

Karatenmon shook his head. "At the very least, I must go. I was the one who allowed Asuramon to escape."

"Aww, come on," said Davis. "You and Beastmon just got married. You don't want to miss your wedding night." He gave them a big knowing grin and winked. Karatenmon and Beastmon blushed as the others sighed.

TK cleared his throat. "Look, your clans are just now entering a time of peace. They need their leaders now more than ever to help with that. Your duty to them takes precipice over whatever job Volcanusmon gave you."

Grimmon was nodding. "They're right. And don't forget, Volcanusmon wanted you to have peace. Don't jeopardize it after 5,000 years for the very thing that started the feud in the first place. Besides, these guys are a lot stronger than you. I'll lead them to the right place, and we'll recover the scrolls. You work on establishing peace. As Volcanusmon's representative, that's an order."

And that was how the DigiDestined Data Squad had gained one more member and was now making their way to the next town over. Along the way, Grimmon asked a lot of questions about the human world, as well as their ability to become Digimon. Unfortunately, they could offer no explanations for the latter other than the little bit they knew.

When he couldn't get a satisfactory answer out of the teens, Grimmon turned his questions on Shoutmon, but the dragon Digimon didn't know much more than the teens, and he was getting frustrated with the reaper Digimon's questions. "Ask Cherubimon yourself. Hopefully, he can give us all answers."

Grimmon nodded. "Right, Chrubimon. I'll do that. I still stand by what I said. I fully intend to bring you to his castle once we deal with this scroll business."

"If the scrolls are even there," Davis pointed out.

The reaper Digimon shrugged. "If they're not, we'll still have done a great deal of good. Several Digimon have tried to save Jesmas and failed."

Shoutmon stopped. "Saved… Wait, we're not going _there_ , are we? But those are just rumors. There's been no proof. Even those that tried haven't been able to confirm if he's there or not."

The teens stopped, feeling like they were missing something. "Wait," said Tai, "what's this about saving Christmas?"

Shoutmon gave him a look. "Christmas? I didn't day Christmas. I said Jesmas. It's a holiday."

Kari's eyebrows rose. "A Digimon holiday? How interesting. How's it work? What's it for?"

"Once a year on Jesmas, a Digimon known as Santamon goes around giving data dust packets to all the good Rookie, In-Training, and Baby Digimon."

The teens stared at him in disbelief. They waited for him to tell them that he was kidding, but he didn't, and they shared a look.

"You are _so_ lying," Davis accused. "There is no way there's a Digimon called Santamon."

Shoutmon's eyes narrowed and he looked completely serious. "Sure there is. He's about this big, he's red, he has a mouth here, and a shiny tail-"

"But, come on, Santamon? Really?"

The dragon Digimon nodded. "Yes, I'm serious. He's a very rare Digimon though. Only one has ever managed to reach his stage. Throughout the year, he spends his time producing data so he can give it to children Digimon to help them Digivolve. He only gives it to good ones though; he can read their code to see if they're good or bad."

Davis just looked at him, then glanced at his friends. "Is he serious right now?"

TK shrugged. "Maybe. Remember Petermon and Tinkermon? I guess Santamon isn't too farfetched."

"Of course he's serious," Grimmon grumbled. "But Santamon disappeared over two years ago on Jesmas. According to rumors, he was captured by an evil Digimon who's been forcing him to produce data for them. Most of the rumors say he's being held prisoner at the place that we're going. Many have tried to free Santamon or simply gone to see if the rumors are even true, but were all destroyed by the Digimon that rules the place. And worst of all, they've never been able to confirm the rumors one way or another."

"Ooook…" Takato muttered. "And you think that this evil Digimon that is supposedly holding Santamon captive is the same one that Asuramon made a deal with to bring the scrolls to?"

The reaper Digimon nodded. "That is my belief, yes. Best case scenario, we defeat the evil Digimon, free Santamon, and recover the scrolls. Worst case scenario, neither Santamon or the scrolls are there, but we still manage to defeat the evil Digimon and stop any others from walking to their deaths to see if the rumors are true or not."

"No," Shoutmon grumbled, "the worst case scenario is that the rumors about Santamon being held prisoner there are just rumors, the Digimon there is not the one Asuramon allied himself with, and the Digimon that _is_ there is far too powerful for us to defeat, and we die like all the others that went to investigate." He shrugged. "But, hey, I'm feeling optimistic. Lets go."

He continued on his way. The teens looked at Tai, who shrugged and went after him. The others followed, uncertain about all this, with Grimmon bringing up the rear.

"Soooo…" Takato began, "holidays are usually meant to mark special occasions, usually a historical event. So what's Jesmas in celebration of?"

Grimmon have a bark of laughter. "Boy, is that a story that goes back. Back to the beginning."

"The very beginning," Shoutmon added. "To the creation of the Digital World itself."

"That's a long time," Kari agreed. "So what happened?"

Shoutmon stopped. He looked up into the sky with a haunted look on his face. "Dark times. In the beginning, when the Digimon God created the first Digimon, there was another creature already roaming the Digital World. We don't know where it came from, if the Digimon God created it or not, but it was there since as long as we could remember. We called it the D-Reaper."

"D-Reaper?" Tai repeated. "What's that?"

"Can't be anything good," said Davis. "Nothing that holds the title of 'reaper' ever is."

Grimmon cleared his throat. "Is that a fact?"

Realizing his mistake, he gave the reaper Digimon a bashful smile. "Of course, I didn't mean you. You're the exception, having turned over a new leaf and all that." He laughed nervously and quickly changed the subject. "So, the D-Reaper. What's the 'D' stand for? Digimon? Data? Digital?"

Shoutmon's eye twitched. "Do you want to hear this story, or not?" When Davis fell silent, he nodded. "Now then. This creature, the D-Reaper, had a very simple purpose. It was meant to keep life in balance by deleting anything that evolved beyond its boundaries. Unfortunately, that rule didn't seem to apply to itself. The D-Reaper grew and evolved as well, becoming a creature beyond anything you could even hope to comprehend."

Grimmon nodded. "You've never seen anything like it. A thick red mass that expanded for miles, immune to attacks, and capable of deleting anything, animate or inanimate, with just a single touch. So many Digimon died."

A chill ran down TK's spin. "Wow, that sounds really… bad."

"You have no idea," Shoutmon growled. "Nothing could stop this thing. It was even capable of creating powerful agents at will, some strong enough to defeat Megas. They were separate entities that were still connected and a part of the D-Reaper, like extensions of itself. They attacked anyone that approached the D-Reaper as it went around deleting anything in its path, killing everyone and everything it came across. Many think that what it ultimately wanted was to delete the entire Digital World and to have all Digital life forms indefinitely trapped in their egg forms with no hope to ever grow or evolve."

"That's seriously twisted," Takuya muttered. "It sounds like it was against life itself."

"In a way, it was. It deemed everything as unworthy of life since it would eventually evolve and need to be deleted anyway, just to have the process start all over again. So it decided to just destroy everything until there was nothing left and nowhere for anything to go. That's why most Digimon came to call it 'the chaos'."

Tai nodded. "Sounds appropriate."

"And familiar," Takato added. "Didn't the Kogamon leader say that Volcanusmon saved them and the Ninjamon from the chaos? Was he talking about the D-Reaper?"

Grimmon chuckled. "So you remember that, eh? Yes, it's true. Long ago, both the Kogamon and the Ninjamon almost had their homes destroyed by the D-Reaper, but Volcanusmon came to their aid. He lured the D-Reaper away from their villages, almost dying in the process, and had his own home deleted for his troubles."

"So that's why they honored and respected him so much," Kari realized. "He not only saved their lives and their homes, but both their clans."

The reaper Digimon nodded. "Yeah, that pretty much hit the nail on the head."

"So what happened to it?" asked Davis. "I'm assuming this D-Reaper was destroyed somehow."

Shoutmon shook his head. "No, not quite. It was just neutralized. Trapped and sealed away so it can never hurt anyone again. And that's where Jesmas comes from. Before the D-Reaper was banished, it had already deleted 47 percent of the Digital World. Something _had_ to be done. That's when a newly Digivolved Digimon known as Jesmon challenged the D-Reaper. It managed to lure it away, all the way down to Digimon-Hell, the bottom most layer of the Digital World. He drew it down into a subspace from which it was unable to escape. It's already next to impossible to get out of Digimon-Hell, and it became completely impossible for the D-Reaper once it was trapped.

"You know the saying, 'if you dig yourself into too deep of a hole, you won't be able to get out without help'. Well that's kind of what happened to the D-Reaper, only on a multidimensional scale, not a literal hole. It had been deleting everything in its path as it went along and ended up trapping itself in a space in the deepest depths of Digimon-Hell with no way out, leaving it unable to escape no matter how hard it tried. And with no more data to absorb, it could no longer grow, evolve, or develop anymore.

"It's still there, trapped, unable to get out, but it's reverted to a more dormant and docile state due to the lack of life around it. Even so, the only thing it can do is dig itself deeper into subspace, further and further away from everything and everyone. I guess, in a way, it kind of got what it wanted, a void lacking any life."

"That is an eerie but fascinating way of looking at things," Tai noted. "So the D-Reaper was sealed away. But what happened to Jesmon? You said he lured the D-Reaper away. That must mean he lured it down to wherever."

The dragon Digimon sighed. "He died. In luring the D-Reaper into the depths of Digimon-Hell, he trapped himself. The D-Reaper blocked his only way out, and he eventually ran out of places to go. He was caught and deleted, but his plan worked, the D-Reaper was indefinitely trapped. He was a hero, but after he was reborn, he never claimed credit for his deed. Many Digimon had died that day, and there was no way to tell which of the Digi-Eggs was his. He was a humble Digimon that had no wish to be honored as a hero, so he kept his silence about who he was, possibly even taking another Digivolution route."

Davis crossed his arms. "If no one knew who he was after he died, then couldn't anyone have just taken the credit and say that they were the Jesmon that saved the world?"

The dragon Digimon wobbled his head. "They could have, but no one ever did out of respect for the one that actually made the sacrifice, not even other Jesmon that appeared afterwards. So, life went on, and the Digital World eventually recovered and repaired the damage the D-Reaper caused to it, yet we honor what Jesmon had done for us, and what he sacrificed to do it. After all, Jesmon is such a rare and powerful Digimon that only can have his stage reached under unique circumstances, and even then it had taken millions of years."

"That's why we celebrate Jesmas," Grimmon concluded, "and why Santamon does what he does. The D-Reaper sought to end evolution and progress. So Santamon provided data to the younger Digimon that need to evolve and progress." He looked upon the horizon. "Or at least he did until he was captured. Now, whoever is holding him captive, is hogging all the data Santamon develops to themselves."

"That's horrible," Kari exclaimed. "Poor Santamon. We've got to free him, and stop whoever it was that captured him."

Shoutmon held out his arms. "Now, now, remember, it's only _rumored_ that he's being held at the place we're going. There's no guarantee that he'll be there. Or even the scrolls for that matter."

"No, but it's a chance," Davis pointed out. "And a chance is all we need. Only…" his stomach rumbled, and he fell to his knees, "I'm too hungry to go on."

The others fell over anime style. It had been decided that they would be more careful with the rations they had received from the Kogamon and Ninjamon, yet Davis seemed to be hungry all the time.

Grimmon sighed and whipped his serpentine body outward. "Climb on. I'm big enough for all of you to ride on."

Davis was instantly on his feet. "Ok, sweet."

He hopped onto the reaper Digimon's body, as did Shoutmon. The others climbed on as well, sitting along the length of his long tail. "Is everybody on?" Grimmon asked. When they all confirmed that they were, he began flapping his wings. "Alright, hold on."

The teens cried out in surprise as he took to the air, and soon they were rising into the sky. The land below got smaller and smaller the higher they went, and the teens clung to Grimmon's body tightly.

"Why didn't you warn us you were going to fly?" Tai shouted over the wind speed.

"I did, I told you to hold on," Grimmon replied. "This'll get us there much faster."

"Then why didn't you just do this before?" TK asked.

"I wanted more time to get to know you and your world some more. You humans fascinate me."

"I'm pretty fascinated right now myself," Takato cried as he looked down fearfully. The sight just made him hold on tighter. "Can you please not fly so high?"

A wicked grin crept up the reaper Digimon's face, and he flew even higher.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

It really was a shame they couldn't spare the energy to fly from place to place in their Digimon forms; it would have made getting around a lot faster. But riding on Grimmon was a good alternative. They reached their destination in a fraction of the time it would have taken to walk there.

Unfortunately, there was no warm welcome to be had. As they flew over the small town that rested in the shadow of the large mountain, a dragon Digimon flew up to them. It didn't look friendly, and the attack fired at them supported this.

" _Wing Cutter!"_ it cried, flapping its wings to send blades of wind at the group.

Grimmon's eyes narrowed. "Hold on tight!" He maneuvered around the blades of wind. Takato cried out as he fell off, but Grimmon quickly grabbed him. He placed him on his back next to the others again, and his tail wrapped around them.

"Not so tight," Davis complained.

Grimmon ignored him and turned to the Digimon that had attacked them. "Airdramon, why do you attack us?"

"You are not permitted to fly here," the dragon Digimon replied, its voice suggesting that it was female. "Land now, or be brought down. _Wing Cutter!"_

Grimmon lashed out, knocking away the blades of wind. "You want to fight? Then lets fight."

"Hey!" Tai shouted. "Don't forget about us!"

Once again, Grimmon ignored his passengers. _"Black Blast!"_

He fired a ball of darkness at the dragon Digimon. Airdramon maneuvered around it and breathed a stream of fire at Grimmon. He countered by using his _Call Bird_ attack to summon a flock of Digital birds to take the brute of the attack. The remaining birds then flew at Airdramon and began scratching and pecking.

" _Call Dragonfly!"_ Grimmon cried, and just like with the birds, several dragonflies appeared. These weren't ordinary dragonflies though; they were giant insects that began firing bolts of lightning at Airdramon.

"Grimmon," TK called, "that's enough! Stop it!"

"Don't bother," Shoutmon told him. "The guy's a reaper Digimon. He won't stop until his foe is defeated."

He was proven right as Grimmon used his _Summon Bat_. Numerous bats appeared, flying towards the dragon Digimon with venom dripping from their fangs. Airdramon snarled as the birds and dragonflies continued to attack, glaring at the approaching swarm of bats. _"God Tornado!"_ she cried, breathing out a tornado that sucked up and blew away the attacking swarms. _"Spinning Needle!"_

Flapping her wings, Airdramon sent out vacuum blades towards the group. Grimmon used the weapons he had for hands to knock them away, then fired his _Dark Crusher_. An arrow of paralyzing darkness struck Airdramon and the dragon Digimon began to fall from the sky. But Grimmon wasn't finished yet. Keeping a firm hold on the teens, he flew towards the falling dragon Digimon. _"Power Cutter!"_

A crisscross of slashes flew across Airdramon's body Grimmon then grabbed her and sped towards the ground. The teens screamed as they descended quickly, then began coughing as a dust cloud rose when Grimmon slammed the dragon Digimon to the ground.

"Had enough?" he growled at her. He lowered his face down to Airdramon's. "You've got a lot of nerve attacking us out of the blue like that. Perhaps I should make sure you won't do it again."

"Cease this!" another voice demanded, and a metallic Digimon bearing a large shield on each arm marched over to them. "I am Mercurymon, guardian of this town. I demand thee end this violence at once."

Grimmon glared at him. "You wish to fight me as well? Fine _Summon Cat!"_

A digital cat appeared, and it pounced at the mutant Digimon, claws extended. Mercurymon suddenly performed a roundhouse kick, knocking the cat away where it burst into data. The reaper Digimon growled at him. "Then I'll take you on directly."

"Grimmon, wait!" Kari shouted to him.

Grimmon didn't seem to hear her as he fired his _Small Breath_ attack, spitting a fireball at him. Mercurymon held his ground and lifted up his shield. _"Dark Reflection!"_

His shield seemed to contain a mirror on it, and Grimmon's attack was pulled into it. Mercurymon then held up his other shield, and Grimmon's attack, now infused with negative energy, flew out of the mirror on it. The now black fireball slammed into Grimmon, blasting him back, his tail uncurling from the teens. They immediately jumped to their feet and turned to the mutant Digimon, ready to fight.

No longer pinned down, Airdramon got up, looking ready to attack again, but Mercurymon held out his hand to stop her. "Cease! There be no need to fight. Thou was not told to attack to begin with."

The dragon Digimon bared her fangs. "Hasn't our town suffered enough? Hasn't there been enough death because of those stupid rumors?"

"And thou hast decided to solve this with more death? Nay, there shall be no more fighting." He received a growl in return from Airdramon, but the dragon Digimon obeyed, and he turned back to the teens. "Thou must forgive her. She was sent to request that thee land and make yourselves known if thee wished to enter our town."

Grimmon had recovered at this point and was making his way over to the group. "An interesting method she uses," the reaper Digimon growled angrily.

Mercurymon bowed his head in apology. "She was not meant to attack. I pray thee will forgive us for our misdeeds. We were but being cautious. Not too long ago, a Digimon entered thy town and headed for the mountain. We believed him to be just another Digimon come to investigate the rumors of Santamon. When a resident attempted to warn them, they were killed. They declared that more would be coming, and it would be in our best interest to leave. Thus we increased security."

Grimmon pointed at him. "That is still no reason to attack me."

Kari patted him. "Calm down. Remember what Volcanusmon taught you; you don't have to live a life of violence."

"Self defense," the reaper Digimon snarled.

Shoutmon nudged him. "Hey, come on, you know that Airdramon can be ferocious."

"Nay," Mercurymon disagreed, "thy friend speaks true. Airdramon acted out of term. I shall exchange words with her."

The dragon Digimon growled. "I don't need a talking to. This guy just needs to land when ordered to do so."

"Maybe I just don't respond well to threats," Grimmon growled. "None but my master may command me."

TK waved his arms. "Whoa, ok. Lets just take this down a few notches. Neither side handled the situation properly. Lets just put this behind us before it gets out of hand."

The reaper and dragon Digimon glared at each other, growling. Airdramon looked away first, spreading her wings. "Just watch yourself next time."

Grimmon slithered closer. "Is that another threat? You had best be careful with how you speak to me. You have _no_ idea of who you're dealing with, or who I represent."

Airdramon snorted. "You speak of Volcanusmon? Word has already reached us that he was destroyed. The next time you respond to a threat with another one, make sure you actually have something to back up what you say."

With that said, she took off into the sky. Grimmon growled, looking like he wanted to go after her, but didn't. Mercurymon sighed in relief that there was no further violence and looked back at the teens. "I thank thee for understanding, and once again offer my humble apologies."

"Hey, it's fine," Tai told him. "Misunderstandings happen. I'm just glad that things didn't escalate to much."

Grimmon huffed. "Speak for yourself."

Takato raised his hand. "Um, excuse me, Mr. Mercurymon, sir, but that Digimon that you said came and killed a residential Digimon, was it by any chance Asuramon?"

The mutant Digimon possessed no eyebrows, or even eyes, but if he did, the teens got the impression that they would have raised up in surprise. "How did thoust know?"

"I knew it!" Davis cried, punching the air. "Looks like Grimmon was right, Asuramon _did_ come here." He pointed to himself and his friends. "We're chasing after that guy. He stole something we're trying to recover. And we think he's in league with whoever it was that captured Santamon and is holding him prisoner."

Mercurymon cocked his head to the side. "So thou have heardst the rumors as well. Truth be told, I know not if Santamon really be up there. This town simply be the last place he was sighted before his disappearance. But it's true that there be a powerful Digimon living up on that mountain, and that be where Asuramon hadst gone. Yeh will surely find Asuramon up there, but thou would have to check for yourselves to see if Santamon really be held prisoner there. Many have gone searching, but none have returned alive. Truthfully, we hadst hoped that Asuramon had met his end up there as well."

"How encouraging," Davis muttered. "So what type of Digimon have gone up there to investigate?"

"Champions and Ultimates mainly. And a single Mega. None survived."

Takuya sighed. "Well that's just great. That means that whoever's up there is a Mega as well."

TK crossed his arms. "Not necessarily. Don't forget about Ghoulmon and Housemon. If Asuramon was in league with whoever is up there, then they could have sent the two of them to attack the Kogamon. Maybe the two of them were the ones defeating everyone who went up to investigate the Santamon rumor."

Shoutmon nodded. "It's possible, but not likely. We'll have to go check to know for sure."

Mercurymon motioned towards them. "If thou art planning to seek Santamon, then though best be in top form. Come, I shall provide thee with loggings for today. Eat and be well rested before heading out. Consider it my apology for the hostile welcome thou hadst received."

Davis' stomach growled loudly. "You mentioned food? As in a free meal? I'm down with that."

"Oh, brother," the others muttered.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

The town was small, and the inn was simple, but it did provide rooms for each of them, and a meal. Mercurymon had paid the innkeeper for their stay and had joined them at the table. Grimmon had still been grumpy and had gone straight to bed after eating, but the others remained behind as they listened to Mercurymon explain what had happened on Jesmas night two years ago.

"Santamon hadth come during the night, just as yeh would expect. He delivered the data dust packets to the Digimon of our town, then left as always." He paused to take a drink from his mud before continuing. "Shortly after he left, the sound of a battle was heard. Residents say that they saw flashes of his attacks in the distance, but I know not if this be true, I hadth gone to sleep."

"And that was the last time Santamon was seen?" Tai asked.

Mercurymon nodded grimly. "He never went to the next town he would go to after ours, nor any town nearby, or anywhere else in the Digital World for that matter, even though his travels hath always been like clockwork in the past. The following Jesmas, he made not a single appearance or delivery. That was when the rumors began. And not long ago, prior to that, a wicked Digimon hath moved into the cave up in the mountain. That coupled with this being the last place Santamon was sighted, along with the stories of the battle that was seen that Jesmas night caused others to theorize that he was being held prisoner by the Digimon up in the mountain."

TK crossed his arms. "Hmm, I can see why people would think that. Still, isn't it possible that he was just destroyed in the battle he was in?"

Mercurymon nodded. "Yay, it is possible, but with his ability to create data, it would be far more beneficial to keepth him alive and use him rather than to kill him and absorb the limited amount of data his death would provide." He nodded to the window, the mountain overlooking the town visible outside. "Over the past five months, several have gone up there to see if the Digimon that moved into the mountain really did capture Santamon, but none have been able to confirm or disprove them."

"Great," said Davis, "I guess we're being promoted to detectives."

Takato nodded. "Yeah, hopefully we'll be able to kill two birds with one stone. We'll get the scrolls back, and free Santamon."

"Hmm," Mercurymon muttered. "Thou be more brave than I."

Shoutmon glanced at him. "Aren't you the town guardian? You should have been the first one up there."

"And leave the town unguarded should I perish? I think not. Call me a coward if thou wish, but I'll not leave my duties to investigate a wild rumor that could potentially lead to my death, and leave this town without a guardian."

"Hey, no judgment," said TK, holding his hands up defensively. "We understand duty. The town's protection comes first."

Mercurymon nodded. "Thank thee for understanding. I will say this though, if thou can get proof that Santamon is being held captive up there, I shall fight with all I have to free him, as will many others."

Kari chuckled. "Glad to hear we have backup."

"Now then," said the mutant Digimon, "I have some questions for thee." He leaned in close. "What many of creatures are thee exactly?"

The teens groaned as Takato leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Here we go again."

 **(A/N: So, did you see what I did with the play on words? Christmas, Jesmon, Jesmas. And for further Digimon lore, Jesmon was based off Jesus. Oh, and no, I did not make up Santamon. He has n ever made an appearance, but there is a song about him that was released for a Digimon holiday CD. They've also recently made an Appmon version of him. The real question, are the rumors true? Is he being held captive up on the mountaintop? At the very least, it is the location of Jokermon. But was it Ghoulmon who was killing everyone that came to investigate the Santamon rumor, or is there someone else up there with Jokermon even more terrible? It seems that one problem being solved simply makes way for another. But if they can get through this, with Grimmon's help, they just might make it to Cherubimon's castle. Could this be the final leg of their journey? Stay tuned to find out.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear or are mentioned. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Jesmon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Airdramon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Mercurymon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/** **D-Reaper**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Santamon_o_Sagase!**

 **animelyrics** _DOT_ **com/anime/digitame/santamonwosagase** _DOT_ **htm**


	65. Chapter 65: Tournament

**(A/N: Alrighty then. Last time, our heroes heard several rumors about a certain mountain. Time to see if there's any truth to them. Are the scrolls there? Is Santamon? And who is the Digimon waiting for them? Is it just Jokermon, or is there something else. And pay close attention, because there's something important that will be mentioned that will come into play later.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 65: Tournament**

It was with great reluctance that Airdramon provided the teens with transport to the top of the mountain. Or at least to the cave near the top where all those that had gone before them had ventured into, and apparently met their end. Truth be told, they were a little more anxious than usual. At least in the previous battles with Devimon, Dragomon, Myotismon, and Argomon, they had known what they were getting into. This time, it was the uncertainty of who and what they were going to face that made them extra nervous.

Airdramon was still sore from her defeat by Grimmon, and had no qualms about showing her distaste as she flew the group to the cave. "I still don't see what you humans can do. You're puny and weak. Digimon far stronger than you have entered that cave and failed."

"Have you ever gone in?" Tai asked?

The dragon Digimon snorted. "Have you seen me? Do I look like I'm built for crawling through caves? I'm meant to fly free in the sky."

Takato frowned. "Don't you care about Santamon?"

"Don't get me wrong, what Santamon does for others is selfless and generous, but it's also foolish. He should have known better than to go around displaying his ability to provide data to others. Of course someone is going to grab him and use his power for themself. He got himself into this mess, he can get himself out."

Davis snickered. "Sounds like someone's been getting coal in her stocking for Jesmas the past few years."

"Santamon doesn't deliver to anyone above the Rookie level," Shoutmon replied. He raised an eyebrow. "And what's coal have to do with anything?"

The boy blinked. "Oh, well, you see, in our world, if you're naughty, instead of getting a Christmas present…" He trailed off at the dragon Digimon's confused look. "You know what, never mind."

They made it to the cave a few minutes later. Airdramon settled down on the ledge and the teens slid off as Grimmon landed beside him. Airdramon threw him a dirty look, and received one in return, before glancing at the teens. "Well, good luck to you. I don't know what you'll find in there, but I doubt it'll be pretty."

"We'll be sure to tell you when we return," Grimmon told her.

The dragon Digimon growled as she turned to him. "You I'm hoping don't come back. I don't know what it is, but there's something about you that I don't like."

The reaper Digimon sneered. "Could it be that I beat you?" His grin widened as Airdramon snarled at him. "Maybe you should be more careful with who you attack." He glanced down the mountain. "Look, someone else is entering the town now. Why don't you try giving them a warmer welcome than you gave us?"

Airdramon looked. Way down at the town's entrance, there was indeed a little speck entering the town. It made the dragon Digimon growl. "Again? I'm tired of all these wannabe heroes coming to solve the great Santamon mystery. Our town has gotten a bad enough reputation as it is."

She began flapping her wings, getting ready to fly off. TK raised a hand to bid her farewell. "Ok, well, thanks for all your…" the dragon Digimon was already flying away, "help… Bye…"

Takuya frowned. "She's got a real attitude problem."

Shoutmon gave a bark of laughter. "You got that right. Hard to believe her species are close to the Digimon God." He looked at the cave entrance. "So, you guy's ready for this?"

Kari looked at the cave. It was a big opening, definitely large enough for Ghoulmon, Housemon, or SkullGreymon to fit through. "As ready as I'm gonna be."

"Yeah!" Davis cried, punching the sky. "Lets prove a rumor! Or disprove. Whatever. Lets go!"

"Wait!" Tai said loudly. He cautiously approached the cave, studying the mouth and inside. "We don't know what type of enemy we'll end up facing. We should be cautious."

"Well, we know there's at least Asuramon," Takato pointed out. "If we're lucky, there will only be him and the one that captured Santamon, and they won't be any higher than an Ultimate."

"Can we please just do something," Grimmon growled impatiently as he hugged himself. "It's freezing up here."

He was right about that. At this altitude, the mountain was covered in snow and ice. The inside of the cave, however, was warm and humid. The teens stepped inside, Grimmon bringing up the rear. Nothing attacked them once they were inside.

The walls of the cave were aligned with torches, providing light to the inside. The tunnel seemed to go on a long way, and the further in they went, the more they began to relax when nothing jumped out at them.

"Hey, you guys remember the caves of Infinity Mountain?" Takato asked suddenly.

TK smiled at the memory. "Yeah, with Grumblemon, Renamon, BlueMeramon, and everyone. Wow, that seems so long ago."

"It _was_ long ago," Tai reminded him. "Months ago."

Davis jokingly poked the back of Shoutmon's head. "It was also when our little buddy here found love."

The dragon Digimon blushed. "I-I have no idea what you mean."

The boy grinned. "Oh, come on. Are you gonna deny that you completely fell for Renamon?"

"Davis, I swear to you. One more word and I'll…" He trailed off, hearing something up ahead. It sounded like movement. Was someone else here?

Holding a hand up to his ear, he tried to listen. Davis, it seemed, didn't pick up on what he was doing and continued to tease his little friend, poking him in the head again. "Oh, come on, you can tell us. It's ok that you're in lo- OW!"

Shoutmon had spun around and bit his poking finger. Davis waved his hand around, screaming as the dragon Digimon kept his jaws tightly clenched.

" _Shh!"_ Tai hissed, slamming his look alike against the wall.

The dragon Digimon released him. "Don't make fun of me, or Renamon. And I think whoever's here already knows about us. I heard them moving."

"That could have just been us echoing down the tunnel," Grimmon pointed out.

Shoutmon shook his head. "No, the sound was coming towards us, not heading away."

The group fell silent and listened. They heard nothing, only their breathing and the occasional _drip_ of water falling from the ceiling.

Takato frowned. "I don't here anything. Are you sure?"

The dragon Digimon crossed his arms. "Are you saying you don't trust me? I know I heard something."

"No, no! I'm not saying you didn't! It's just that we're in a spooky cave, going to face an unknown enemy. Sometimes you might-"

"There it is again!" the dragon Digimon interrupted. "Someone's definitely there. Quick, follow me!"

He took off running through the cave, ignoring Kari's cries of how they should stick together. The tunnel only led in one direction, and it was lit by the torches. Shadows were cast on the walls, either from the torches sticking out of the walls or from the rock formation. Either way, they should not have been able to move. And that was exactly what one did when he got close enough. "Ah-ha! I saw you! Get back here! Asuramon, is that you?"

It wouldn't be until later that he would realize that if it had been the demon Digimon in question, he would have been crazy for chasing after him on his own as a mere Rookie to Asuramon's Ultimate. Right now though, he was focusing on catching whoever had been spying on them. That didn't seem like it would be happening any time soon though; whoever he was chasing was very fast.

The tunnel came to an end, opening into a large cavern. Unlike the tunnel, the cavern was not lit, and only a dim light filled it, making it very difficult to see. Whoever he had been after had disappeared into the darkness, and Shoutmon squinted as he struggled to see in the dim light.

"Shoutmon, wait up!" came Takuya's voice from behind him. The teens caught up, almost running into him as they came out of the tunnel. "It's dangerous to run off like that in here."

The dragon Digimon snorted. "Life is full of danger. I had a lead, and I went with it."

"Shoutmon," Grimmon growled, "there was nothing there. You're being paranoid."

He stomped his foot. "I'm telling you, I heard someone back there. Saw them too. I chased them into this place."

"It was nothing."

"It was someone spying on us, and I followed them right into here!" He threw a _Fiery Fastball_ into the cavern. It blasted against the wall… lighting up a sinister looking face next to where it struck. A low growl emitted from the face as the embers burned out and darkness concealed it once more.

"Did you see that?" Kari asked, feeling a shiver run down her spine.

TK nodded. "I saw it. There's definitely something there."

"I _told_ you!" Shoutmon exclaimed.

Grimmon rose up to his full height. "I'll handle this. _Call Dragonfly!"_

The electric flying insects appeared and unleashed their lightning in all directions, lighting up the cavern. The creature they had seen leapt off the wall it was clinging to and landed a short distance from the teens. In the dim light, it was truly menacing, and the growls escaping its lips made it all the more terrifying.

Takato gulped. "T-That's not Asuramon."

A loud deranged laughter that was not coming from the creature echoed off the cave walls. "Well, so much for Hide-and-Seek. I was hoping to watch you squirm around in the dark. Oh well. Lights!"

Torches on the walls lit up, filling the cavern with light. The creature crouching down before them looked up at the teens, and they suddenly wished it had remained in the shadows. It looked like a humanoid demon crossed with a goat and a crow. It was a hideous beast that may have been even more horrifying than SkullSatamon.

"I know who that is," Shoutmon whispered uneasily. "Aegiochusmon Dark."

Takato blinked. "Boy, that's quite a name. Who's he?"

Tai was checking his Digivice. "Aegiochusmon Dark. He's an Ultimate level god Digimon, and one of Aegiochusmon's five forms. Along with his dragon based regular form, he also possesses a metal based Blue form, an evil based Dark form, a plant based Green form, and an angel based Holy form."

"And of course we get struck with his evil Dark form," Davis grumbled irritably. "Figures. Why couldn't we have run into his Holy form?"

TK tore his eyes away from the horrifying Digimon and turned them to the throne where a certain clown Digimon wielding a lethal looking scythe sat with a big grin on his face. "Forget about him. Who's that guy?"

The clown Digimon's grin widened. "So nice to meet you. I am Jokermon, at your service."

Takuya cut his eyes at him. "Something tells me we don't want any type of service this guy is providing."

Jokermon roared with laughter, as if this were the funniest thing he ever heard, but there was something very _off_ about his laugh, something akin to madness, and the teens exchanged uncertain looks, not sure what to make of him.

"Somebody better call Batmon," said Takato, "'cause this guy is completely off his rocker."

"Yeah," Davis agreed, "next thing you know, he'll start saying 'why so serious'."

The clown Digimon laughed even harder, pounding his fist on the armrest of his throne. "Why so serious? I like that. I think I _will_ start saying that."

Aegiochusmon didn't seem to find the situation funny, looking ready to go in for the kill at any given moment. "May I take them?"

Jokermon's laughter quickly quieted down. "Not just yet. Lets have a little fun with our guests first. After all, they came such a long way just to die."

"We came for the scrolls Asuramon stole," Tai told him. "Return them to us. And if you're really keeping Santamon prisoner, then let him go too."

The clown Digimon just grinned and rested his cheek against his knuckle. "My, you're certainly demanding, aren't you. Unfortunately though, I no longer have the scrolls. I'm afraid I sent them off to the boss."

"The boss?" TK repeated. "Then there's someone else in charge?"

"Looks like your hunch was right, Grimmon," Takuya told the reaper Digimon. "Asuramon did bring the scrolls here."

"I thought we had established that already," said Davis.

Jokermon's shoulders began to shake as he tried to hold in his laughter. "You don't need to worry about Asuramon anymore. He got his… just deserts. His head decided to _desert_ his body."

He began laughing again and started swinging his scythe back and forth. Tai's hand went to his neck as he got the clown Digimon's punch line. It seemed his friends did too if the looks on their faces was any indication. "And Santamon? Is it true that you're holding him captive here?"

The laughter stopped, but Jokermon's smile remained. "So you heard that rumor too, huh? Well, let me shed some light on it."

He snapped his fingers and another torch lit, this one above a cell built into the wall. It was dark inside, but the teens could see something red moving around behind the bars. "Yes, as a matter of fact, he is here. You wouldn't believe how many fools came here to investigate a single rumor, each one as weak and pathetic as the last." Grinning, he looked at the cell. "Hello in there. How's it feel to know that so many died trying to save you?"

"You're sick!" TK shouted, and made a run for the cell. Aegiochusmon moved with lightning speed, placing himself in front of TK and growling at him.

Jokermon shook his finger. "Ah, ah, ah, none of that. If you want to save the Jesmas man, you're going to have to win his freedom."

Takuya glared. "So you wanna fight?"

A frown crossed the clown Digimon's face, and he placed a hand on his chest. "Me? Oh, no, no, no, no. Not me." He grinned again. "How can I enjoy the show if I'm fighting? Let me introduce you to our contestants."

He clapped his hands. Aegiochusmon leapt away from TK and landed beside the clown Digimon. A few moments later, two more Digimon flew down from the roof of the cave, the first resembling a white gryphon, the other looking a lot like Paildramon, only opposite, being where insect where Paildramon was dragon and dragon where Paildramon was insect. Something else came down from up above after them, only this one dropped down instead if flying, and it shook the entire cavern with its impact.

"What's that?" Davis asked as he regained his balance. "A giant gold Rubix cube?"

Jokermon roared with laughter. "Not quite. This is something far more difficult to deal with. But it does open up." He snapped his fingers, and pipe-like limbs expanded from the giant object, and a head rose up. Jokermon grinned and motioned to it. "Meet Bulbmon. And this here is Hippogriffomon and Dinobeemon. I believe you've already met Aegiochusmon."

Shoutmon looked at each of the Digimon. "These guys are all Ultimates."

"Oh," said Jokermon, "we're not done yet. I wanted the teams to be even." He whistled loudly, and an entire wall blew apart as two much larger Digimon burst into the cavern, one resembling a bulky Tyrannosaurus Rex, the other resembling a demonic sea creature.

"Meet MasterTyrannomon and MarineDevimon," Jokermon announced, "the last two contenders. In a way, you can consider them your life mates, since they'll be with you for the rest of your lives, as short as that is."

Takuya ignored the clown Digimon's laughter as he looked at the aquatic beast Digimon. "MarineDevimon, huh? Guess that's why he looks like Devimon crossed with a giant squid."

"These guys are Ultimates too," Shoutmon told them, looking increasingly uneasy.

"As are your friends," the clown Digimon pointed out. "At least they are when they turn into Digimon. Oh yes," he chuckled, "I know all about your abilities, your Spirit Evolution. I have ever since you stayed at the Kogamon village."

"So Asuramon told you," Tai guessed. "It's a shame we couldn't finish him off back then."

"You're not still planning on destroying the Kogamon Clan, are you?" Kari asked worriedly.

More laughter from Jokermon. "As if the boss cares about that little speck of land. There are more important things to worry about. And now that we have the scrolls, we can focus on unleashing the great power that had been sealed away."

The teens exchanged looks. It seemed that Jokermon was unaware that he still needed the keycards. They still didn't know what this great power was, but if this mysterious boss didn't have the keycards, then the directions the scrolls provided on how to use them were worthless.

"Darcmon must have been working for Jokermon's boss," TK theorized, "and she recruited Argomon into finding the keycards while Jokermon here made a deal with Asuramon to get the scrolls on how to use them."

"Well, that simplifies things a bit," said Davis. "Lets just beat up these guys, defeat their boss, and leave the scrolls wherever they are. Volcanusmon should have just destroyed them to begin with."

"Don't be so hasty," Takuya argued. "We don't know what this great power is. It may be needed one day."

Jokermon was scowling now. "What are you whispering about? Lets get this show underway."

"Fine then!" Tai cried. "Let's go everybody. _Execute! Spirit Evolution… MetalGreymon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Paildramon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… WarGrowlmon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… BurningGreymon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Angewomon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… MagnaAngemon!"_

Jokermon clapped at the DigiDestined's Digimon forms. "Bravo! Bravo! Most impressive! It seems I chose wisely."

WarGrowlmon glared. "What do you mean, 'chose wisely'?"

Covering his mouth, the clown tried to suppress his chuckles. "Opponents for you. We're going to have a little tournament. Each of you will face one of my hand picked friends here in a fight to the death." He shook his finger at them. "But no helping each other. That's a big no-no. These are one on one battles."

BurningGreymon took a step forward. "You think we're going to play by your rules?"

Jokermon's smile widened. "Oh, I know you will."

He snapped his fingers, and one of MarineDevimon's tentacles shot out. It wrapped around Grimmon and dragged him over, tossing him at Jokermon's feet. While he was dazed, the clown Digimon hooked the blade of his scythe around Grimmon's neck, the blade pressing against his throat.

"Grimmon!" Angewomon cried. "Don't hurt him!"

The clown Digimon snickered. "That will be up to you, I could kill him very easily right now. All it takes is a single sawing motion, and it's bye-bye Grimmon. Now, if anyone breaks the rules, I'll simply adjust the angle of my blade here, and you'll be down a friend."

The reaper Digimon reached for the blade at his throat as he glared up at Jokermon. "You wretch. You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

The clown Digimon winked at him. "Immensely."

Grimmon growled in response. "You will pay for this."

This just caused Jokermon to smile more broadly. "Oh, I'm sure I will, but for now, it's fun time." He looked back at the DigiDestined. "So, what's it going to be? My way," he wiggled his scythe, "or the die way?"

MetalGreymon grit his teeth. "You're not giving us much of a choice."

"Bingo! And now that we've got that out of the way," he sat down on Grimmon's shoulder, his legs around the reaper Digimon's neck, his blade still against his throat. "Let the show begin!"

MasterTyrannomon marched over to WarGrowlmon. "Lets see which of us dinosaurs aisre better, the master, or the machine."

"Cyborg," WarGrowlmon corrected, "and that's fine with me."

Bulbmon pointed at MetalGreymon. "And we can find out which of us machines is better too."

MetalGreymon's eyes narrowed. "I'm also a cyborg, and you may come to regret your choice."

Aegiochusmon suddenly moved, flying right in front of MagnaAngemon, baring his fangs to the angel Digimon. "You are mine."

A frown crossed the angel Digimon's face. "Should have seen that coming."

Punching his palm, Paildramon looked at the remaining three opponents. "So which one is mine?"

A sudden movement, and a punch to the face delivered by Dinobeemon knocked the dragon Digimon over. "That would be me. I was chosen specifically so we can see which of us is superior."

Rubbing the spot he was punched, Paildramon got to his feet. "Cheap shot, pal. And what do you mean, specifically chosen."

"Dinobeemon is an alternative DNA Digivolution of ExVeemon and Stingmon," Shoutmon explained.

Understanding dawned on Paildramon's face. "Ah, so this is a rivalry thing. You want to prove you're better. I can work with that." He cocked the guns on his hips. "Bring it on."

Looking at the remaining two, Angewomon crossed her arms. "MarineDevimon, huh? Going with this competing theme, I assume you'll be my opponent."

The aquatic beast Digimon chuckled. "Your executioner would be a far more appropriate title."

Jokermon roared with laughter, the movement bringing his blade dangerously close to Grimmon's neck. "Good one!"

BurningGreymon cracked his knuckles as he stared down Hippogriffomon. "I guess I'm stuck with the leftovers. That's fine with me."

The gryphon Digimon's eyes flashed violently. "Is this fine with you too? _Sonic Voice!"_

Rings of sound flew from his mouth. BurningGreymon jumped up and the attack struck the cave wall, creating a large hole. The dragon Digimon glared down at him. "Using a sneak attack, huh? That's fine with me too. _Pyro Barrage!"_

Hippogriffomon screeched and flew at him, maneuvering around the energy bullets. As the gryphon Digimon zoomed in, BurningGreymon's arms shot out, grabbing Hippogriffomon's wings to hold him back as he swiped at him with his claws.

"Ooh, and the first fight has begun!" Jokermon declared with a smirk. "This is sure to be a show." He leaned down towards Grimmon. "Don't you think so, big guy?"

The reaper Digimon turned his head as much as he could without slicing his throat. "Under different circumstances, I would kill you. I still might."

"Easy, Grimmon," MagnaAngemon told him. "Remember whatever it was that Volcanusmon taught you about not needing to give into your killer reaper instincts. We got this."

"Do you now?" the clown Digimon asked, still smiling. "Lets just see."

Hippogriffomon was surprisingly strong, and he somehow managed to slam BurningGreymon against the wall, even as the dragon Digimon kept a firm grip on his wings, his claws scratching at BurningGreymon's chest.

Using his mighty beak, he pecked at his opponent's face. BurningGreymon moved his head to the left, then to the right, Hippogriffomon's beak cracking the rock behind him. As he leaned back to peak again, BurningGreymon head-butted _him_. With his opponent dazed, he brought his leg up, kneeing the gryphon Digimon in the stomach, allowing him to spin around and slam Hippogriffomon against the wall, reversing their positions.

Pulling back his fist, he prepared to punch the gryphon Digimon, but Hippogriffomon unleashed his _Sonic Voice_ again, and BurningGreymon was blasted backwards. With a shriek, he flew after him, slashing at the dragon Digimon as he whizzed past. He changed directions and flew back, slashing him again, then came about to do it again.

" _Wildfire Tsunami!"_ BurningGreymon cried, unleashing his fiery tornado. Hippogriffomon pulled back from the flames. He screeched loudly and fired his _Sonic Voice_ into the flaming vortex, but hit nothing.

"Come out and face me, you coward!"

BurningGreymon complied. From within the flames, he came flying out, covered head to toe in fire. Using his _Burning Grey Basher_ , he crashed into the gryphon Digimon, tackling him into the wall. He backed off after that, letting him get to his feet. "You regretting your decision yet?"

Hippogriffomon growled at him. _"Heat Wave!"_ He breathed a powerful wind of scorching temperatures at the dragon Digimon.

BurningGreymon felt the level of heat in the attack and had to admit, had that been used on any other Digimon, it would have caused some pretty extensive damage, but not to him. "Dude, are you kidding?" He motioned to his flaming body. "How is an attack like that supposed to hurt me?"

" _Sonic Voice!"_

Once again, BurningGreymon was blasted back. He landed on his back, skidding across the ground until he came to a stop in front of Shoutmon. The smaller dragon Digimon raised an eyebrow at him. "Um, BurningGreymon…"

"Yeah, yeah, I pretty much put my foot in my mouth there."

He suddenly felt his tail being grabbed and was dragged away from his friends. Keeping a grip on him, Hippogriffomon flew him up towards the roof of the cave where several stalactites hung down. Hippogriffomon flung BurningGreymon up towards them to be skewered, but BurningGreymon was able to flip himself around and kick off the ceiling. He used his _Drago Fanger_ , forming a flaming dragon around himself and slamming into Hippogriffomon. The two hit the ground in a fiery explosion, scorching the area around them.

Blinking through the smoke, Hippogriffomon was able to make out BurningGreymon above him. He opened his mouth to fire his _Sonic Voice,_ but BurningGreymon's Rudriya Darpaṇa clamped down around his throat, cutting off his attack.

"Enough of that," he declared. "Just remember, you wanted this. _Fire Below!"_ He fired his lasers into the ground on either side of Hippogriffomon's head. The ground exploded beneath them with BurningGreymon pinning down his opponent. The gryphon Digimon cried out as the fiery blast flowed over him, and BurningGreymon used his _Crimson Fanger,_ stabbing into the Hippogriffomon's chest.

When the flames from the explosion died down, only Hippogriffomon's lingering data remained. BurningGreymon stood up and dusted himself off, then turned to throw a dirty look in Jokermon's direction. "I believe that's one down."

The clown Digimon stared at him for a moment before he burst into laughter. "Well, that was one 'hot' match. You were really 'on fire'."

He roared with laughter again, as if his horrible puns were the greatest joke ever told. The DigiDestined glanced at each other again, each thinking the same thing. "This guy is seriously out of his mind," WarGrowlmon muttered, giving voice to their thoughts."

Jokermon stopped laughing, but his grin remained. "I'm glad you're so outspoken, 'cause you're next."

WarGrowlmon looked at MasterTyrannomon. The dinosaur Digimon stepped forward, tall, powerful, and pure muscle. WarGrowlmon growled at him and ran his blades over each other, sending sparks flying. "That's fine. I can take it. Don't worry, Grimmon, we'll free you and Santamon soon."

"Can't wait," the reaper Digimon grumbled.

MasterTyrannomon roared and charged towards WarGrowlmon, moving faster than the cyborg dinosaur Digimon would have expected. But not fast enough. Igniting his jets, he shot towards his opponent, slamming into him. MasterTyrannomon grunted as they crashed into the wall, and WarGrowlmon raised his claw to use his _Radiation Blade_. But as he brought it down, MasterTyrannomon caught his wrist.

His strength was incredible. No matter how hard WarGrowlmon pushed, MasterTyrannomon didn't budge, nor could he pull his claw free of the dinosaur Digimon's grip. A sneer crept up MasterTyrannomon's face as he raised his other hand. _"Master Claw!"_

He slashed at WarGrowlmon, his claws leaving deep grooves in the cyborg dinosaur Digimon's metal chest. WarGrowlmon stumbled back and MasterTyrannomon opened his mouth and unleashed his _Master Fire_. The blazing stream hit WarGrowlmon with such force that he was knocked off his feet and pushed all the way to the other side of the wall.

"My turn now," MasterTyrannomon declared, and rushed at him. He wasn't that fast, but he came forward like a charging tank. WarGrowlmon stabbed forward with his _Hammer Edge_ , but MasterTyrannomon ducked to avoid it, head-butting into the cyborg dinosaur Digimon's stomach and slamming him into the wall again.

The air was knocked out of WarGrowlmon from the impact, but MasterTyrannomon didn't give him a chance to catch his breath. He rammed into him a second time, then began pounding his fist into the cyborg dinosaur Digimon's side. WarGrowlmon grunted and lashed out with the cable on his back. It wrapped around MasterTyrannomon's arm, preventing him from punching as WarGrowlmon grabbed the dinosaur Digimon. Gritting his teeth, he lifted the massively heavy Digimon in the air and threw him across the cave. MasterTyrannomon hit the ground so hard the entire cave shook.

" _Atomic Blaster!"_

" _Master Fire!"_

The beams of plasma and stream of fire collided with each other. The two attacks pushed against each other for several moments before the power erupted and exploded outward.

With his hands occupied with holding his scythe to Grimmo's throat, Jokermon clapped with his feet. "Ooh, fireworks! What a show!"

WarGrowlmon ignited his jets and sped towards MasterTyrannomon again, but this time the dinosaur Digimon was ready. Bracing himself, he caught WarGrowlmon as he collided into him. His arms wrapped around the cyborg dinosaur Digimon in a powerful bear hug, and he began squeezing. WarGrowlmon cried out as MasterTyrannomon crushed him, unable to break his grip. "Let go of me! _Megalo Spark!"_

Electricity flowed out of his chest and over MasterTyrannomon. The dinosaur Digimon roared just before WarGrowlmon head-butted him. His grip loosened, and WarGrowlmon broke free. _"Atomic Blaster!"_

Firing at point blank range, his plasma beams pushed MasterTyrannomon back until he crashed into the wall. When the attacked ceased, the dinosaur Digimon slid down the wall, his front smoking from WarGrowlmon's attack.

Breathing heavily, WarGrowlmon took a stumbling step towards his opponent, his body aching from being crushed. "Do you… really want… to make this a fight to the death?"

MasterTyrannomon looked up at him, seeming to consider the cyborg dinosaur Digimon. But then he grinned and rose to his feet. "I insist upon it. _Zen Recovery!"_

His body began glowing with rainbow light. It lasted only a few seconds, and when the light faded, he was completely healed. The injuries he had received were gone, including the large burn on his chest.

"He can heal himself?" MetalGreymon gasped.

Jokermon chuckled. "He can heal himself."

"I can heal myself," MasterTyrannomon agreed. "Meaning I can go on for a very long time." He gave the cyborg dinosaur Digimon a toothy grin. "Can you?"

WarGrowlmon took a hesitant step backwards. "Guys, I think I'm in trouble."

 **(A/N: Well, this isn't good. Our heroes have never faced of against someone who could heal themselves before. This could prove to be a very difficult fight. And eve n if WarGrowlmon manages to win, there's still several more opponents to fight. I wanted to try doing a tournament type of thing, but I'll try not to drag it out too long, hence why** **Hippogriffomon was beaten so quickly. But as long as Jokermon has Grimmon hostage, the teens have to play along. Will they all be able to defeat their opponents, or will something interfere with the tournament? Stay tuned for more** **.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear or are mentioned. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/** **Hippogriffomon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/MasterTyrannomon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Dinobeemon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Bulbmon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Aegiochusmon_Dark**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/MarineDevimon**


	66. Chapter 66: To The Victors

**(A/N: It's part two of the tournament. I wanted to try and write a tournament, but I didn't want to drag it out for too long, so sorry if some of these battles seem like they go by a little fast. Last time, WarGrowlmon discovered that his opponent, MasterTyrannomon, had the ability to heal himself. Lets see how he deals with the problem.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 66: To The Victors**

This could indeed prove to be a problem. They had never gone up against an enemy with a healing ability, though they had used these types of techniques themselves in the past. It undoubtedly gave one combatant an advantage over the other, and WarGrowlmon now found himself at the short end of the stick.

"WarGrowlmon, you still have a chance!" Shoutmon called to him.

The cyborg dinosaur Digimon didn't look away from his rejuvenated opponent. "I'm open to suggestions."

"Healing abilities will heal physical damage, but they use up a lot of energy, so they need to be used sparingly. You have to make a judgment call of when you think he'll heal. Hold back for as long as you can until you damage him enough to the point you suspect he might heal himself, then go all out and destroy him before he can."

MasterTyrannomon chuckled as he stepped forward. "A good strategy, but do you really think you can pull it off? I'm not going to give you the chance."

He charged forward and threw a punch. WarGrowlmon's head snapped back as the dinosaur Digimon's fist slammed into his jaw. He growled and used _Hammer Edge_ , swiping his claws upward. MasterTyrannomon stumbled back, and WarGrowlmon wrapped his arms around his torso and ignited his thrusters. The two took off, spinning around wildly in the air as MasterTyrannomon's weight threw off his steering. They crashed into the ceiling, the dinosaur Digimon's back pressed against the hard rock, and WarGrowlmon dragged him across the rough surface, crashing into stalactites along the way.

MasterTyrannomon grunted as his back was torn up and grabbed WarGrowlmon's head. He began slamming his own much larger one into the cyborg dinosaur Digimon's face. WarGrowlmon grunted with each blow and used his _Megalo Spark_. MasterTyrannomon roared and maneuvered his body, allowing him to kick off the ceiling, and they crashed down to the ground.

WarGrowlmon's thrusters were still ignited, and they pushed him up. He lifted the dinosaur Digimon over his head and tossed him back. MasterTyrannomon grabbed his cable as he was thrown and landed on his feet. He gave it a yank, pulling the cyborg dinosaur Digimon to him, then began spinning him around. He let go, and WarGrowlmon crashed into the wall, his thrusters dying down.

" _Hyper Heat Blast!"_ MasterTyrannomon roared, and a shower of embers went flying from his body. WarGrowlmon raised his arms as the spray of fire flew against him. He unleashed his _Megalo Spark_ again, and the electricity countered the embers, allowing him to get to his feet. He took one step forward, then another as he continued to produce electricity.

The embers stopped flying as MasterTyrannomon used _Master Fire_. This blasted straight through WarGrowlmon's electric attack and flattened him against the wall as the stream of fire flowed over him. The heat was unbearable, and WarGrowlmon felt his energy draining rapidly.

In a desperate move, he ignited his thrusters again, pushing himself across the room, through the flames, as he moved closer to his opponent. The heat got more intense as he closed the distance between them, his metal body parts glowing bright orange, but he finally reached his opponent. _"Hammer Edge!"_

He thrust his claw upward into the underside of MasterTyrannomon's mouth. The dinosaur Digimon ceased his attack and roared as WarGrowlmon's claw stabbed through his lower jaw. Pulling his claw free, he relentlessly attacked with his _Radiation Blade_ , slicing all across MasterTyrannomon's torso.

" _Master Claw!"_ the dinosaur Digimon cried, wracking his nails across WarGrowlmon's face. He then followed up with his _Hyper Heat Blast_ , sending the cyborg dinosaur Digimon crashing into the wall once again. _"Zen Recov-"_

Thrusters igniting, WarGrowlmon launched himself at MasterTyrannomon. He couldn't let him heal again. Tackling the dinosaur Digimon, he used _Megalo Spark_ , and MasterTyrannomon's healing technique was interrupted as he roared.

Grabbing his opponent's head, WarGrowlmon positioned his chest so it was right in front of MasterTyrannomon's face. _"Atomic Blaster!"_

The plasma beams erupted in the dinosaur Digimon's face. MasterTyrannomon cried out and unleashed his _Master Fire_ to counter it. The attack did little at this close range as WarGrowlmon's beams continued to flow out, pushing through the flames. MasterTyrannomon then began to pound his fists against WarGrowlmon's sides, but the cyborg dinosaur Digimon refused to let up until, finally, MasterTyrannomon stopped moving. This was soon followed by a breakdown of his body into data, signaling the battle's end.

As MasterTyrannomon disappeared beneath him, WarGrowlmon fell to the ground, breathing heavily. He had expelled a great deal of energy doing what Shoutmon had suggested to prevent his opponent from healing, and though it had worked, it left him drained.

Glancing at his friends, the cyborg dinosaur Digimon had to use the blades on his claws to hold himself up so he wouldn't collapse. "Good strategy, Shoutmon. Thanks."

The dragon Digimon gave him a thumbs up. "It's what I do."

"Unfortunately, I think that I… I… Uh oh." He reverted back to human form, no longer having the energy to maintain the transformation. "Yeah, I had a feeling that would happen."

"But you won," MetalGreymon pointed out. "That's one step closer to victory."

Jokermon chuckled. "Oh my, someone is confident." His grin widened. "Why so serious?"

The cyborg dinosaur Digimon cut his eyes at him. "Really?"

Keeping one hand on his scythe, the clown Digimon pointed at him. "Why don't you step into the ring next?"

MetalGreymon looked at his intended opponent. Bulbmon was big, a lot bigger than him, and he looked quite powerful. But they had faced worse. "I'm not afraid."

"You tell him, MetalGreymon," Takato breathed. "Just let me catch my breath, and I'll get out of your way. Shouldn't take more than a few… hours."

The clown Digimon's grin spread wider. "Let me help you with that. Bulbmon!"

The machine Digimon marched over to the boy and lifted his large foot. MetalGreymon gasped and fired his _Giga Blaster_. The missiles exploded against Bulbmon, knocking him onto his back, his arms and legs kicking around like a flipped over turtle.

"Ha!" Paildramon laughed. "He may look big and strong, but he's not so tough."

He spoke too soon as Bulbmon retracted his arms, legs, and head into his body. _"Octagon Attack!"_

Like something out of a video game, Bulbmon began flip-rolling end over end towards MetalGreymon, only, unlike in a video game, there was no opening for him to duck into to avoid being crushed. MetalGreymon fired another _Giga Blaster_ , but this did nothing against Bulbmon's hard metal body. He backed away until he hit the wall, then braced himself as the machine Digimon slammed into him, crushing him between rock and metal.

Rolling back, he came at him again, and MetalGreymon was once again crushed. He rolled back for a third hit, but this time MetalGreymon was ready. Bending down, he lifted Bulbmon's massive body as he came at him. His legs threatened to collapse beneath the weight, but he gritted his teeth and tossed the machine Digimon from him.

The cave shook as Bulbmon came down, and MetalGreymon sent out a wave of fire with his _Powerful Flame,_ but Bulbmon remained unaffected by the attack. Flipping twice, he popped out of his body and raised his hand. Power gathered in it as he unleashed his _Valve Extreme_ , firing a beam of condensed energy. MetalGreymon dove to the side, and the beam bore a hole into the wall, deep into the mountain.

" _Mega Claw!"_ the cyborg dinosaur cried. His metal claw flew at Bulbmon, the cable wrapping around Bulbmon's extended arm that fired the beam. MetalGreymon pulled with all his might, yanking at the machine Digimon's arm, but Bulbmon himself didn't budge. He glanced at the cable wrapped around his wrist before yanking on it.

MetalGreymon was yanked off his feet and slammed into the wall on the other side of the room. With a flick of his arm, Bulbmon unwound the cable from his wrist and took aim at the cyborg dinosaur Digimon. _"Mad Pump!"_

A jet of water flew out of his hand. MetalGreymon hadn't even completely risen yet before the stream of water slammed him against the wall. He would have cried out, but the water pressure was so strong that he couldn't even breathe. The metal covering over his chest dented under the pressure as the wall behind him cracked from the force of the spray.

Jokermon slapped his knee. "It looks like he's all _washed_ up."

The blade of his scythe came dangerously close to Grimmon's throat. "Hey, watch it."

MetalGreymon couldn't move. His feet were not even touching the ground as the spray of water pinned him to the wall. Slowly he raised his metal claw and fired it into the air. It buried into the ceiling, and he reeled himself in, pulling himself out of the way of the water's spray.

Bulbmon looked up at him as the cyborg dinosaur Digimon swung around. He began firing his _Valve Extreme_ , but didn't seem to be good at aiming, the attack blasting the ceiling apart, but missing MetalGreymon. It didn't last long though as the cyborg dinosaur Digimon's weight caused his metal claw to become dislodged, and he fell to the ground, several chunks of rock from the ceiling dropping down on top of him.

Grumbling, MetalGreymon looked up. Bulbmon was standing above him. The giant machine Digimon slowly raised his big hand and brought it down on MetalGreymon. He did it again, making a slow drawn out spectacle of it as he continued to beat down on the cyborg dinosaur Digimon.

"Oh my!" Jokermon cried with false concern. "It looks like this could be it."

Angewomon's eyes narrowed beneath her helmet. "Not a chance! Come on, MetalGreymon, get up!"

"On your feet, big guy!" BurningGreymon shouted. "Our leader ain't going out like this!"

More cries of encouragement came from the DigiDestined, and MetalGreymon attempted to rise again, only to be knocked down once more. As Bulbmon raised his hand once more, MetalGreymon lashed out above him. _"Over Flame!"_

The flames did little damage, but Bulbmon recoiled on reflex. MetalGreymon jumped to his feet and leapt back as the machine Digimon brought his hand down again, missing MetalGreymon, but crushing the pile of rocks the cyborg dinosaur Digimon had been buried under to dust.

" _Giga Blaster!"_ MetalGreymon cried, firing two missiles. They blasted against Bulbmon's body, once again knocking him over, but still not doing any notable damage. Just like before, Bulbmon's limbs retracted into his body, and he rolled until he was right-side up once again. MetalGreymon expected him to use his _Octagon Attack_ again but instead a compartment opened on his body and a cannon protruded from the opening.

Taking a step back, MetalGreymon realized that he was backed up against the wall with nowhere to go. "Oh, crap."

" _Force Beam!"_

A massive beam was fired from the cannon. Its brightness blinded the others as it flew through the air towards the cornered MetalGreymon. There was the terrible sound of the beam tearing through rock as Bulbmon's attack blasted straight through the mountain, bursting out into the air and disappearing into the distance.

When the light from the attack died down, the DigiDestined blinked the spots out of their vision. The cave was filled with smoke, but even with it, one thing was obvious, MetalGreymon was gone.

"And it looks like we have a winner!" Jokermon declared gleefully. "MetalGreymon has left the building."

The DigiDestined stared in horror and disbelief at the place where MetalGreymon had once been. Slowly, Paildramon dropped to his knees, refusing to accept what his eyes were seeing. "It can't be… It just can't be…"

"No!" Angewomon wailed, and lunged forward, only to be restrained from behind by MagnaAngemon. "He can't be gone! He can't be gone! Tai! TAI!"

Jokermon cackled manically. "Parting is such sweet sorrow, but I'm afraid we must move on. You didn't see any of us bailing our eyes out when our friends fell, did you? So, next up will be-"

"Don't count me out just yet." From within the smoke, Tai rose to his feet, an arrogant smirk on his face. "I'm not done yet."

"Tai!" the DigiDestined cried.

Even Grimmon seemed surprised to see him. "How did you survive?"

Tai held up his Digivice. "I knew I couldn't avoid the attack as MetalGreymon; I was too big. So I changed back to my human form, then I ducked and covered. The attack flew right over me. _Execute! Spirit Evolution… MetalGreymon!_ Now, lets finish this."

Jokermon stared, blinking a few times in surprise. "Alright, it looks like we're going into extra innings." He pointed. "Bulbmon, blast him again."

Still balled up, Bulbmon began to shift until his cannon was pointed at MetalGreymon again. The cyborg dinosaur Digimon's eyes narrowed as Bulbmon took aim. But now he had his own strategy. Bulbmon's armored body protected him from most of MetalGreymon's attacks, but it wasn't impenetrable.

" _Giga Destroyer!"_ The missiles went flying with precise precision. One and then the other went straight down Bulbmon's cannon. For a few seconds, no one moved or spoke, then Bulbmon's body burst into an explosion of data that filled the cave.

"No!" Jokermon grumbled, once again making a movement that nearly caused his scythe to cut Grimmon's throat. "That was meant to be our victory." He hung his head, as if in defeat, but after a few moments, he immediately perked up. "Ah well. What are you gonna do about it? Dinobeemon!"

"Sir?"

"I expect you to win this one, is that understood."

The mutant Digimon rubbed his hands together eagerly. "With pleasure."

He stepped forward, eager to face his opponent. Everyone waited in anticipation, but Paildramon didn't go to meet him. All heads turned to him, and the dragon Digimon blinked, finally getting the message. "Oh, right. It's my turn."

He too went out to meet his opponent. A feeling of unease ran through him as Dinobeemon stared him down, looking at him as if he were a piece of meat he was longing to devour. "I've been waiting a long time for this."

Paildramon sweat-dropped. "Um, just for the record, I've got nothing against you. We can walk away right now."

Dinobeemon simply cracked his knuckled. "Oh, but I've got a great deal against you. Now I will prove I'm superior."

"Right… Um, you do know that there are other Paildramon out there in the world you can fight, right?"

"Yes, but none like you, human."

The dragon Digimon cut his eyes. "Lucky me."

"Begin!" Jokermon shouted.

Dinobeemon wasted no time, immediately slashing at his opponent. Paildramon's speed managed to save him as he danced away from the mutant Digimon' swiping claws. But Dinobeemon was very fast as well, and as Paildramon thrust his lances at him in a counter attack, the mutant Digimon managed to catch them.

Paildramon attempted to kick him, and Dinobeemon flew backwards, avoiding the blow. "Witness my Dance of Hell. _Masquerade!"_

He vanished. Paildramon blinked, staring at the place the mutant Digimon had been standing, wondering where he had gone. Could he teleport? That would make things far more difficult.

A cry came from behind him, and Paildramon whirled around, stabbing with his lance. His blade found its mark, stabbing into Dinobeemon's chest, and the dragon Digimon smirked at his opponent. "Got you, pal." He looked again. "Huh?"

The Dinobeemon he had stabbed was not the true Dinobeemon, but a mere after image, a transparent illusion of the mutant Digimon.

The image slowly faded away as Paildramon looked around for the real thing.

A painful slash struck him shoulder as the real Dinobeemon landed a blow. "Wrong! _I_ got _you_."

Paildramon turned to strike the real thing, but only succeeded in hitting another after image. But Dinobeemon found his mark again. And as Paildramon looked around, more and more copies began to surround him. He caught a glimpse of the real Dinobeemon before it disappeared on him again, leaving behind yet another after image.

Soon several dozen illusions surrounded him, and several more scratches covered Paildramon's body, cutting straight through his armor. He wasn't getting anywhere like this.

"What's wrong?" Dinobeemon taunted. "Is my _Masquerade_ attack too much for you?"

"Hardly," Paildramon retorted. "I'm just coming up with a contingency plan. _Desperado Blaster!"_

His spray of bullets began showering over the after images. The illusions faded away as Paildramon began taking them out faster than Dinobeemon could create them, until only the real thing was left behind.

"Got you now!" the dragon Digimon declared, firing at his opponent.

But with his speed, Dinobeemon was able to maneuver around the spray of bullets, flying towards the dragon Digimon and coming to a stop right in front of him. "Don't bet on it, human. _Irritant Buzz!"_

Paildramon had been about to strike, but the buzzing sound Dinobeemon had suddenly unleashed forced him to cover his ears. Sneering, the mutant slashed at Paildramon again before disappearing, once more resuming his _Masquerade_ attack while buzzing madly.

Down on the ground, the others were not immune to Dinobeemon's _Irritant Buzz_. Even Jokermon had removed his scythe from Grimmon's neck to cover his ears, but the reaper Digimon was too busy covering his own ears to even notice.

Paildramon didn't think he could take it anymore, the noise or the slashes. And as the number of after images increased, he couldn't even aim properly with his guns. "Enough of this! _Cable Catcher!"_

He fired his claws on a wire, striking an illusion of Dinobeemon. He didn't care that it was fake as he began waving his cables around wildly. They passed through the after images, interrupting the illusions and causing them to fade away. They finally latched onto the real thing, and the persistent buzzing stopped.

"Now then!" cried Paildramon. _"Electric Bolt!"_

The blast of electricity struck Dinobeemon, dislodging him from the dragon Digimon's cables and sending him crashing to the cave floor. With the buzzing no longer going on Jokermon lowered his hands from his ears. "Phew, never would have thought I'd be glad the enemy managed to one-up an ally. Oops." He quickly returned the blade of his scythe to Grimmon's neck. "That was close. Almost lost you there." His grin widened. "Hey, isn't it ironic that a scythe is being used against a reaper Digimon?"

As Jokermon roared with laughter, Paildramon landed beside the fallen Dinobeemon. "Is there any chance we could end this fight without one of us dying?"

The mutant Digimon looked up at him. "I would destroy us both before I'd let you win."

Paildramon sighed. "I was afraid of that." His lance extended from his arm. "When you come back, try to be good."

Dinobeemon bellowed and threw himself at the dragon Digimon, avoiding the lance. He tackled him into the cave wall, breaking straight through it and into another cavern. The DigiDestined cried their friend's name as the sound of a struggle took place. It was dimly lit inside the cavern the two fought in, the combatants' casting their shadows on the wall. But due to the similar body structures, the DigiDestined were unable to tell which was which.

Finally, one managed to grab the other around the neck, the trapped Digimon struggled against the hold as the other seemed to be attempting to snap their neck. The shadows continued to struggle before the captive one finally became still, their body going limp. A moment later, it dissolved into data.

The victor let out a sigh and began making their way towards the hole. The DigiDestined still had no idea who had been victorious, and all they could do was wait and hope for the best.

Paildramon poked his head out of the hole, looking beat up and exhausted. Joyful cries and cheers came from the DigiDestined as he waved to then. "Please don't get up. In fact, I think I'll lay down."

He collapsed on the ground, reverting back to his human form. BurningGreymon flew over to them and picked him up. Davis appeared to be totally drained, but it didn't matter; he had won.

"Ooh, too bad," Jokermon pouted. "And after such a suspenseful climax too."

"You're one step closer to your defeat," Grimmon warned him.

The clown Digimon shook his finger. "Ah, ah, ah. I still have two friends left. And even if one of them wins, that's a victory for me."

Takato gave him a look of disbelief. "What? When was that established?"

"Just now," Jokermon declared, and began laughing loudly.

An impatient growl came from Aegiochusmon. "Enough. I'm done waiting. I want to fight. Tear them apart. Rip them to shreds. Kill, kill, kill!" His red eyes stared hungrily at MagnaAngemon as he spoke to the clown Digimon. "Let me fight."

Jokermon glanced at MarineDevimon, biting his bottom lip as he seemed to be thinking it over. "Hmm, I don't know. I was planning on saving you for last."

Beneath him, Grimmon growled impatiently as well. "Just let him fight."

The clown Digimon grinned. "Okey dokey then. Aegiochusmon, you may-"

The god man Digimon didn't wait for him to finish as he charged at the angel Digimon. MagnaAngemon held up his sword and shield, blocking Aegiochusmon's attack. Jokermon blinked in surprise. "Fight… Um, ok then. Begin."

Aegiochusmon's ugly face was inches from MagnaAngemon as he pressed back against the blades on the god man Digimon's arms. He could feel the beasts' hot breath against his face, and it smelled like death. "I should have seen this coming."

"You will soon see death," Aegiochusmon growled. _"Evil Hunt!"_

He went wild, slashing about with the blades on his arms. MagnaAngemon defended and deflected the blades before going on the attack. _"Judgment Slash!"_

His own blade made contact with Aegiochusmon's, and the two struggled for a few moments before MagnaAngemon increased his sword's strength with _Excali-burst._ Aegiochusmon's arm began to buckle under the power of the sword, and he suddenly took a swipe at the angel Digimon with the blade on his other arm. A trail of black was left in the blade's wake as it was infused with dark energy, and MagnaAngemon began flying backwards to avoid the evil swipes as Aegiochusmon attacked with his _Cross Cutter_ again and again.

" _Shield and Counter!"_ he cried, blocking the god man Digimon's attack, and Aegiochusmon was repelled back by the force of his own attack. MagnaAngemon followed up with his _Magna Jump_ , launching himself at Aegiochusmon with a blast of holy energy.

" _Dark Crystal!"_ the god man Digimon cried, and was suddenly engulfed with a purple and black aura. As MagnaAngemon flew at him, his claw shot out, seizing the angel Digimon around the neck and slamming him to the ground. "Did you really think your type advantage would help? My _Dark Crystal_ allows me to reduce elemental attack damage, especially if that element is Light.

MagnaAngemon strained to speak. "Good… to know… _Magna Jump!"_

He launched them both into the air, and they crashed into the ceiling. Aegiochusmon grunted and released him, grabbing at his shoulder where a stalactite pierced him. MagnaAngemon stabbed forward with his _Excalibur's Grace_ attack while he was distracted, but Aegiochusmon moved quickly, blocking with one of his blades.

" _Tri-Scythe!"_ he cried, lashing out at the angel Digimon, and MagnaAngemon gasped as three stingers stabbed into his body. _"Triangles!"_

An agonized wail escaped the angel Digimon as he was injected with corrosive energy. Aegiochusmon kicked downward, and MagnaAngemon crashed into the ground. The god man Digimon landed a short distance away and began stalking towards him like a predator closing in for the kill. "Can you feel it? The darkness as it eats away at you?" His red eyes positively shined with exhilaration. "Show me how much you're suffering."

Consumed by dark energy, MagnaAngemon struggled to his feet. "Your darkness will never overcome the light. _Magna Antidote!"_ A new rainbow aura flowed over his body, and he felt the dark energy inside him be neutralized. "Never."

Aegiochusmon snarled like a maddened animal and charged at him. The god man Digimon batted them away with his arm blades before crossing them with MagnaAngemon's sword. Loud _clang_ sounds were heard as the two fought furiously, MagnaAngemon using his shield and sword to block against Aegiochusmon's blades, unable to keep up with his speed.

Several of Aegiochusmon's swipes found their mark, and MagnaAngemon was soon covered in numerous cuts. "You foolish human," Aegiochusmon hissed. "You can't defeat me. Gods are superior to angels. _Dark Consumption!"_

He tossed several shadow spheres at him. MagnaAngemon didn't know what they did, nor did he want to know. He blocked with his shield and swiped with his sword. Surprisingly, this did not deflect the spheres. Rather, they attached to him, and immediately began draining his energy. MagnaAngemon cried out as his power was zapped, the sphere changing from black shadow to a golden light. They detached from his sword and shield and floated over to Aegiochusmon, entering his body. The wound on the god man Digimon's shoulder began to heal as he absorbed MagnaAngemon's energy.

"Did you see that?" MetalGreymon exclaimed. "He can steal energy!"

"And heal himself with it," Davis unnecessarily pointed out. "This isn't good."

Behind his helmet, MagnaAngemon glared at his opponent. "Is that why you're so strong? Because you steal energy?"

"Trust me," the god man Digimon replied, "there was hardly anything worth taking."

"We'll see about that. _Flying Sword of Justice!"_ He flew towards Aegiochusmon with blinding speed. The god man Digimon just sneered. As MagnaAngemon swung his blade, Aegiochusmon caught it. His other hand shot out, grabbing him around his throat once again, his claws digging into the angel Digimon's neck. MagnaAngemon struggled, but couldn't break his hold. His other hand came up to strike the god man Digimon, but Aegiochusmon's stingers suddenly stabbed into his arm, holding it back.

A coughing gargle escaped MagnaAngemon as Aegiochusmon's grip on his neck tightened, and he slowly bent the angel Digimon's head back. On the ground, Angewomon was on the verge of stepping in. "MagnaAngemon is in trouble. We have to help him."

Despite the iron grip on his neck, MagnaAngemon managed to find his voice. "D-Don't… G-G-Grimmon will be…"

Grinning, Jokermon slid his finger across his neck as he pressed the blade of his scythe against the reaper Digimon's throat. "He's right!"

MagnaAngemon still struggled to speak. "I'll… b-beat… him…"

Aegiochusmon grinned wickedly. "Will you now? And just how do you plan to do that?"

" _H-H-Heaven's Heal!"_ His body lit up, and the wounds covering his body healed. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself into an upright position again. _"Excali-burst!"_

Aegiochusmon hissed in pain and released the blades as it expanded in size and power. MagnaAngemon brought his knee up, slamming it into the god man Digimon's gut. He was released as Aegiochusmon clutched his stomach, glancing furiously at the angel Digimon.

" _Judgment Slash!"_ MagnaAngemon cried, swiping his sword at him. Aegiochusmon avoided it and countered with his _Cross Cutter_. MagnaAngemon blocked with his shield, and Aegiochusmon came at him again. He threw a punch, his fist slamming into MagnaAngemon's jaw, and the angel Digimon went flying backwards. Yet he took advantage of his momentum, spinning around in the air and drawing a circle with his sword. _"Great Golden Gate!"_

His momentum carried him right into the portal he created, and it closed behind him as Aegiochusmon fired his _Dark Consumption_ at him. A flash of light directly to his left distracted him as the exit to MagnaAngemon's portal appeared. He emerged, already drawing a second circle, this one for a different purpose. _"Heaven's Gate!"_

Aegiochusmon's eyes widened as the gate opened and unleashed a powerful beam of energy. It struck the god man Digimon at point black range, blasting him backwards, and slamming him into the cave wall, pinning him there. MagnaAngemon was still coming. With the god man Digimon pinned, he stabbed forward with his sword, already having been enhanced by his _Exacli-burst_ technique.

" _Excalibur's Grace!"_ He buried his sword into Aegiochusmon's gut. Already under the assault of the angel Digimon's _Heaven Gate_ attack, his pained roar echoed through the cave. MagnaAngemon pulled his sword back, raised it up high, and brought it down on Aegiochusmon's head, slicing him in two. "Be gone."

A few moments passed as what happened slowly seemed to register to Aegiochusmon. As his two halves began to slid apart, one last cry erupted from the god man Digimon as he dissolved into data. The beam of holy energy ceased as the portal faded away, and MagnaAngemon slowly floated to the ground, breathing heavily. The battle may not have lasted long, but Aegiochusmon had undoubtedly been one of the strongest and most vicious opponents he had faced.

The DigiDestined stared dumbfounded at MagnaAngemon, surprised at how he had been able to turn the battle around. "He did it," Shoutmon whispered. Then his face lit up. "He did it! Woohoo! I knew he would!"

Takato bonked him on the head. "Yeah, sure you did."

"Please," said Davis. "How could our team ever lose?" He turned to Jokermon, holding up two of his fingers to form a V for victory. "How do you like that, you clown? Now you're down to one baddie."

The clown Digimon tapped his chin. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Quite the unexpected turnout." He pointed. "Ok, MarineDevimon, it's up to you."

The aquatic beast Digimon grunted and stepped forward. The largest of them all, he could barely move on the cave, but still looked as deadly and as powerful as any of them. Despite his size and undeniable power, Angewomon stepped forward to meet him. "I guess it's up to me to end this tournament."

"Good luck, sis," MetalGreymon told her.

As she stood before her opponent, Angewomon frowned up at MarineDevimon in disgust. "A Devimon-species, huh? I'm not one to be racist, but I've had some bad experiences with your kind." She took a fighting stance. "So I probably won't feel too much guilt when I take you down."

MarineDevimon just chuckled. His mouth suddenly became bloated as he prepared to unleash his _Dark Deluge_ attack, but a piercing stabbing sound suddenly echoed through the cave, and MarineDevimon's three red eyes bulged out.

"Enough of these games," a new voice declared. "It's my turn now."

Slowly, MarineDevimon's mouth fell open, a flood of venomous ink spilling out. He fell forward, collapsing to the ground, four swords buried in the back of his head, and floating behind him, coming to land on his back, was a new Digimon.

"What the hell?" BurningGreymon exclaimed. "Who is that now?"

Smirking, the Digimon in question motioned with his fingers, and the four swords buried in MarineDevimon's head sprang to life. They began flying about, slicing the aquatic beast Digimon to pieces, before flying back into their sheaths on their owner's back. As Angewomon's opponent broke down into data that the newcomer proceeded to absorb, he grinned at the DigiDestined.

"So nice to meet you, humans. My name is Piedmon, and I'm the one in charge of this operation."

 **(A/N: Well now, this is a twist. It looks like the tournament has been interrupted by a newcomer. And it looks like this newcomer is the one in charge. The DigiDestined have finally met the big boss, and it looks like he's done playing games. Things are about to take a serious turn here. Are our heroes a match for Piedmon? Find out next time.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear or are mentioned. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Piedmon**


	67. Chapter 67: A Bag of Tricks

**(A/N: We had a bit of a twist last chapter. Now that mastermind behind everything from Darcmon controlling Argomon, to Asuramon deceiving the Kogamon and Ninjamon, to the kidnapping of Santamon. How will the DigiDestined handle Piedmon? specially after most of them tired from battle and Grimmon still stuck as Jokermon's hostage. Lets see how it goes.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 67: A Bag of Tricks**

Like Jokermon, Piedmon was a clown Digimon as well, only with a far more colorful, elaborate, and more sinister, as if he had been crossed with a demonic entity of some kind, like a vampire or a ghoul.

Speaking of Jokermon, the clown Digimon seemed rather surprised to see the newcomer. "Master Piedmon, what are you doing here? I thought we had decided to have a tournament with the humans fighting our men."

Piedmon chuckled. "Come now. This tournament is a failure. It's not even fun to watch anymore. These humans are much stronger than we thought. It's obvious who would have won; I simply moved things along a bit."

Despite MarineDevimon being an enemy, Davis was still outraged by the way Piedmon had carelessly slaughtered his own man. "Moved things along? You killed your own guy, you twisted psycho! What is wrong with you?"

A tug on his pant leg drew his attention, and he looked down at Shoutmon. The dragon Digimon was staring at Piedmon rather nervously. "Please don't piss him off. Piedmon is a Mega, and a powerful one at that."

MetalGreymon's eyes narrowed. "Oh, great."

Frowning, Davis looked the clown Digimon up and down. "This guy's a Mega? But he's so small compared to the other Megas we faced."

"Lots of power in a small package," Shoutmon replied. "I told you, size doesn't matter when it comes to power for Digimon."

BurningGreymon snorted. "Ok, so he's a Mega. So what? We've beaten Megas before. Remember VenomMyotismon?"

"Piedmon is stronger," the dragon Digimon told him.

"Argomon at the Mega level?"

"Piedmon's stronger."

"Um, Housemon?"

"He's still stronger."

"…Ghoulmon?"

Getting impatient, Shoutmon glared at him. "Look, you can spend all day naming various types of Mega Digimon, and still Piedmon will be stronger than many of them." He looked back at the clown Digimon. "He's one serious bad guy that holds the rank of Dark Master with an assortment of magic tricks; none of which you want played on you."

Chuckling, the clown Digimon bowed. "You flatter me, really, although not even you know that I'm truly capable of."

Ignoring Shoutmon's warning, MetalGreymon pointed his metal claw at him. "So you say you're the boss. Then you better give back the Kogamon and Ninjamon scrolls."

Looking amused, Piedmon nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders and held out his empty hands. "Sorry, I don't have them with me. And besides, you're in no position to make threats. You're a team of four Ultimates, two humans, and a Rookie, and you dare to threaten me? What nerve."

"Teach them a lesson, master," Jokermon cried gleefully. "Show them what happens to those that defy you."

Cracking his knuckles, Piedmon seemed very eager to do just that. "Oh, I intend to."

"We're not afraid of you!" Davis shouted. "You're just a big bully, stealing the sacred scrolls and kidnaping Santamon."

Shoutmon cut his eyes at him. "So says the guy who can't even fight right now."

Piedmon chuckled again. "I must say, you lot are quite amusing. I wouldn't want to end this too quickly. I'll tell you what, why don't you all attack together. That'll make this more interesting."

Angewomon hesitantly glanced at Grimmon still under Jokermon's blade. "But…"

Smirking, Piedmon shook a finger at her. "Oh, don't worry about him. Your friend will be safe. I want him to see you die."

"The only one dying today is you!" BurningGreymon declared. _"Fire Below!"_

He fired a laser at Piedmon. The clown Digimon's grin widened as a hand mirror suddenly appeared in his hand. _"Clown Trick!"_

He held the mirror up, and the laser bounced off it and flew towards BurningGreymon's feet. The ground exploded beneath him, and the dragon Digimon was blown to the ceiling before he came crashing down.

"Careful!" Shoutmon shouted. "His _Clown Trick_ is a unique technique that allows his to do various things, like disguising himself, transforming things, and even reflecting and neutralizing attacks."

BurningGreymon sat up, rubbing his head. "Thanks for the warning."

Piedmon laughed. "As if a warning would have saved you. Your lives were forfeit the moment you got involved in our affairs. _Toy Wonderness!"_

He slashed at the air, creating a powerful gust of wind. The DigiDestined were blown off their feet, the force of the wind slamming them against the wall and flattening them against it.

Angewomon groaned as she struggled against the wind pressure, yet she managed to unleash her _Saint's Air_ attack, the tornado negating the wind from Piedmon's attack, and the DigiDestined dropped to the ground.

"What the hell was that?" Davis grumbled. "How is something called _Toy Wonderness_ a wind attack?"

Shoutmon, who had landed on his head, and was still on it, toppled over. "Piedmon has a few deceptive attacks."

MetalGreymon got to his feet. "Well, there's nothing deceptive about this. _Giga Destroyer!"_

The missiles flew at Piedmon, but he held his ground, smirking. _"Clown Trick!"_

The ribbons hanging from his neck lashed out, striking the missiles and causing them to explode. They extended further, wrapping all around the cyborg dinosaur Digimon and lifting him in the air.

"Let him go!" MagnaAngemon cried, and charged forward with his _Flying Sword of Justice_.

Keeping hold of MetalGreymon, Piedmon leapt over the charging angel Digimon. He landed a short distance away while keeping his prey dangling in the air. Angewomon fired a _Celestial Arrow_ at him while his back was turned, yet he managed to snatch it out of the air before it hit him, trapping it between his middle and index fingers.

"Shooting someone in the back," he said, smirking over his shoulder at her. To show the futility of her sneak attack, he snapped the arrow of light in two between his fingers. "That's not very nice."

"Neither is this! _Drago Fanger!"_ BurningGreymon cried, charging at him as a fiery dragon.

" _Clown Trick!"_ A large red cape appeared in the clown Digimon's hands. "Toro, boy." Like a bullfighter, he held the cape out in front of him, and, like a fool, BurningGreymon felt himself drawn towards it by a compelling force. "Olay!"

The cape fell over the flaming dragon, and BurningGreymon felt his flames get extinguished right before he hit something hard, crashing through it. Even though it hadn't been there a moment before, when Piedmon dropped the cape over him, a brick wall was revealed to be behind it. And as BurningGreymon crashed through it, Piedmon happily leapt over him.

" _Heaven's Gate!"_ MagnaAngemon cried, and a golden gate appeared to unleash a beam of energy. Piedmon just sneered as he brought MetalGreymon down and threw him in the attack's path. Behind his helmet, MagnaAngemon's eyes widened. "No, stop!"

But it was too late, and he watched in horror as his attack blasted his friend into the wall. Badly damaged, MetalGreymon dropped to the ground, his body twitching.

On top of Grimmon, Jokermon chuckled. "Good one, sir."

MagnaAngemon continued to look on in horror at what he had done. "MetalGreymon…"

"Pay attention!" Piedmon cried. _"Ending Snipe!"_ He threw a handful of electricity at the angel Digimon, who cried out as it flowed over his body. Angewomon fired her _Heaven's Charm_ at him, but Piedmon just snapped his fingers. _"Masks Square!"_

A ring of energy flowed from out of him and across the ground. All around, squares appeared on the floor. As Angewomon's attack came at him, he stepped back onto a square, causing it to light up. A moment later, he vanished, and the attack missed.

Angewomon blinked in surprise. "Wha…?"

She failed to notice the square behind her light up a moment before Piedmon appeared on it.

"Behind you!" MagnaAngemon shouted to her.

She whirled around, only to have Piedmon's fist slam into her jaw. As she stumbled away, the four swords flew out of the clown Digimon's back, and he motioned towards her. _"Trump Sword!"_

The swords began flying around rapidly, slashing at the angel Digimon. She cried out as several deep gashes appeared over her body, unable to react quickly enough to defend against them. Three of the swords pierced her wings, carrying her away with them, and then buried into the wall, pinning her there. The fourth sword flew over to her, floating in the air as it took aim at her heart.

Piedmon chuckled and pointed at her. The sword sped forward, and MagnaAngemon dove in its path, knocking it away with his own sword before flying towards him, once again attempting to use his _Flying Sword of Justice_.

Behind Piedmon, BurningGreymon was on his feet. _"Pyro Barrage!"_

As if he didn't have a care in the world, Piedmon raised his had in the air and snapped his fingers. _"Clown Trick!"_

Curtains appeared around him and MagnaAngemon, halting the angel in his tracks. A moment later, the curtains dropped and disappeared, revealing that Piedmon and MagnaAngemon had switched places.

"What?" MagnaAngemon inquired, caught off guard by his new position. A moment later, BurningGreymon's energy bullets bombarded against him, and he collapsed.

"MagnaAngemon!" the dragon Digimon cried. His gaze shifted to Piedmon, his eyes burning furiously. "You-"

From behind, Piedmon's fourth sword stabbed him in the back. BurningGreymon stood frozen in shock, the pain not yet setting in. Then it hit him, and an agonized grunt escaped him as he fell. His hold on his Digimon form failed him, and he became Takuya again. Piedmon's sword, thankfully, was not stuck in his back, but laying on the ground beside him.

Piedmon crossed his arms and humphed. "Well, this has been disappointing. I mean, even though I knew you would be no match for me, I was hoping for more of a challenge than this."

From behind, a pair of missiles suddenly struck him, and Piedmon was blasted off his feet. He sat up and looked to who had hit him and saw MetalGreymon leaning against the wall. "Awfully big talk from someone who didn't step in to fight until the very end."

Smirking, the clown Digimon got to his feet. "Ah, MetalGreymon. I almost forgot about you."

"A mistake you'll come to regret. _Over Flame!"_

He fired a stream of fire from his claw. Piedmon countered with his _Clown Trick_ and a flower appeared in his hand. In a classic clown gag fashion, the flower sprayed a jet of water at MetalGreymon, a very powerful jet of water. It collided with his fire attack, the two streams producing a rising cloud of steam where they met, yet it wasn't long before the water overpowered the fire and sprayed against MetalGreymon, the force pinning him against the wall in a manner similar to Bulbmon's _Mad Pump_ attack.

Piedmon laughed, and with his free hand touched the stream as he unleashed his _Ending Snipe_ , electrifying the water. MetalGreymon cried out as the clown Digimon's counterattack did twice as much damage. And when the water finally stopped flowing, he dropped to the ground and reverted back to his human form.

"Tai…" Angewomon muttered. Reaching up, she cried out in pain as she pulled Piedmon's swords from her wings. Falling to the ground, she groaned in agony and struggled to get to her feet.

MagnaAngemon was right there with her, recovering from BurningGreymon's attack. Piedmon turned to them, looking amused. "Just two injured angel left."

"And it looks like they're about to collapse," Jokermon joked. "I guess that will make them 'fallen' angels."

He roared with laughter, finding his horrible play on words hilarious, yet even Piedmon cracked a smile. Beneath Jokermon, however, Grimmo appeared to be very agitated and at the end of his patience. "Enough of this nonsense."

Risking having his throat slit, he grabbed at the scythe at his neck and flapped his wings. Slamming into the ceiling, he crushed Jokermon against the hard rough surface. The clown Digimon yelped, and the scythe fell away from Grimmon's throat. Swinging his tail, it curled around Jokermon, tearing him off his back and flinging him against the wall hard enough to crack the rock.

Turning to Piedmon, Grimmon glared at him. "I'm done with these games. Now it's my turn."

Still smirking, Piedmon tapped his chin, looking unconcerned. "Oh my. Are you sure?"

"But Grimmon," Davis called, "didn't you make some kind of vow to Volcanusmon to never resort to violence, or something?"

"Um, Davis," Takato muttered, "I think there are more pressing matters to worry about."

"I've sat on the sidelines for too long," the reaper Digimon continued. "But no more. _Grimmon Digivolve to… ChaosGrimmon!"_

The DigiDestined gasped in surprise as their friend's suddenly Digivolved to the Ultimate level. ChaosGrimmon resembled a red and blue cybernetic dragon-like warrior, complete with flaming dragon wings and lethal looking weapons for hands. When Grimmon had said that he would fight, they hadn't been expecting this.

"Whoa, ChaosGrimmon," said Takuya. He checked his Digivice. "He's an Ultimate level Digimon whose summoning power is taken up a notch. With his _Chaos Slash_ attack, he unleashes the power of chaos and induces confusion while cutting his opponents apart, and his _AT Change_ can swap his strengths and weaknesses."

Takato looked confused. "What does that mean?"

"It means," said MagnaAngemon as ChaosGrimmon headed over to him and Angewomon, "that our chances have increased." He exchanged a look with his fellow angel Digimon. Seemingly knowing what the other was thinking, they nodded. _"Heaven's Heal!"_

" _Heaven's Cure!"_

Their recovery power flowed over them, healing a portion of their damage. Piedmon just crossed his arms as he continued to look amused. "Are you sure that was a wise decision? You were both pretty damaged. The more damaged you are, the more energy it requires you to heal yourselves. Can you really spare that much energy? At what point does healing yourself become a drawback?"

MagnaAngemon pointed his sword at him. "As long as it allows us to defeat you. Lets do this."

"Yes," ChaosGrimmon breathed, "lets. _Chaos Slash!"_

It was almost like watching the Tasmanian devil from a certain American cartoon spin around in a ferocious display of claws. Blades of pure chaotic energy trailed behind ChaosGrimmon's knife-like claws, slicing through everything in their path, and MagnaAngemon cried out as the reaper Digimon's attack tore his back to shreds. Feathers went flying as he fell forward, collapsing on the ground, even more heavily damaged than he had been before.

Tai's eyes widened in shock and confusion. "What the hell?!"

Angewomon whirled around, staring at ChaosGrimmon in disbelief. "What are you doing?

" _Multi Gatling!"_ the reaper Digimon cried, firing a series of bullets from his three-bladed hand at the collapsed angel Digimon, pushing him across the floor. MagnaAngemon could no longer hold his form, and he turned back into TK.

Angewomon quickly threw herself in front of him, shielding him with her body in case ChaosGrimmon fired at him again. "ChaosGrimmon, what's the meaning of this? What's wrong with you?"

The reaper Digimon lowered his hand. "What do you mean, what's wrong with me? Is it not obvious? Clearly Piedmon and Jokermon have managed to brainwash or take control of me somehow and have made me turn against you." He cocked his head to the side curiously. "No? Then how about this. Digivolving to my Ultimate form has apparently altered my nature and personality the way, as you should know by now, Digivolving is known to do, making me vicious and violent, unable to distinguish friend from foe. Still no? Well then, Jokermon must have told me that he and Piedmon are holding someone I care about hostage and are now forcing me to fight you if I want to save them. Do any of these sound good to you?" Slowly, he raised his blade, pointing his knife hand at Angewomon. "Or maybe, you humans are just so damn gullible that it's disgusting."

The DigiDestined stared, trying to comprehend this, trying to make sense of what they were seeing and hearing. The sound of Jokermon's laughter soon drew their attention as the clown Digimon walked over to them. "Isn't that cute. They trusted you so much that they can't accept the truth, even when it's right in front of them."

Takuya struggled to find his voice, forcing himself to speak the horrible truth. "You're… You're with them?"

ChaosGrimmon turned to him. He raised his hand and fired at him. Takato and Tai grabbed their friend and pulled him to the ground before he was peppered with bullets. "Does that answer your question?" he asked in an emotionless voice. "Why do you think I brought you here? How do you think I knew Asuramon would bring the scrolls here in the first place? Did you really think it was just a lucky guess?"

Grumbling, TK slowly sat up. "But… back at the Kogamon village… you…"

"Did everything I could to maintain the peace so Asuramon and Beastmon would be mated. You thought I actually cared about maintaining peace? Fools, it was so Asuramon could get the Kogamon's half of the scroll and turn it and the Ninjamon's scroll over to his ally, Piedmon, in exchange for wiping out the entire Kogamon Clan. But tell me, who do you think approached Asuramon with the proposition?"

He thumped his chest. "It was me, you fools. I needed to keep the peace between the two clans so the mating ceremony would take place in order for Asuramon to become the new leader of the Ninjamon Clan in exchange for the scrolls. So I played the peacekeeper, claiming I had been sent by Volcanusmon to make sure a war didn't break out." He chuckled. "Those foolish Ninjamon and Kogamon. They have such faith in Volcanusmon, enough to believe he could actually turn a _reaper_ Digimon like me away from violence."

A growl escaped Shoutmon. "Damn it. I had my suspicions in the beginning, but it was precisely _for_ that reason that I trusted you. Why would a reaper Digimon with a violent nature be sent to be a peacekeeper? Everyone would be suspicious of them, making them the least likely person to be a spy. That's why I dropped my suspicions."

Jokermon laughed. "That's some grade A reverse psychology."

Tai was now glaring at ignominious. "That's why you never actually lifted a finger to help us in the battle with Ghoulmon and the others. You made us think you were trying to resist the temptation of returning to your violent ways, but it was because they were really your allies. The only time you actually fought was when Airdramon attacked you."

Takuya glanced at Jokermon. "And then you put on that bull crap act about being Jokermon's hostage so we would participate in your sick tournament. You were never in any danger."

The clown Digimon chuckled and swung his scythe. "I did get a little carried away with my role though."

"For which I said you would pay," ChaosGrimmon growled.

Still grinning, Jokermon rubbed his back, still sore from being slammed into the ceiling and tossed across the cave. "Yes, I certainly did."

TK climbed to his feet. "Then what was the point of it all? Why befriend us? Why bring us here?"

ChaosGrimmon's masked face turned to him. "Humans in the Digital World is not something you come across everyday. And with the ability to turn into Digimon at that. How could I not take an interest? You gave me a lot of interesting information about you and your world."

"I wanted to see what you were capable of as well," Piedmon added. He motioned to the area they had been fighting. "That was the true purpose of this little tournament, to see what you were truly capable of. And I must admit, I was rather impressed by what I saw. Against your opponents at least."

"But now the charade is over," ChaosGrimmon told them. "You have no idea how hard it's been holding myself back all this time. I was actually worried I would expose myself too soon." He held up the blades on his hand. "It feels so good to show the real me again."

The DigiDestined were silent, most either angry or in shock at the secrets that were coming to light. One, however, had a nervous smile on his face; his eyes shining with unshed tears. He stepped forward, as if in a daze, looking at ChaosGrimmon hopefully.

"This is a joke, right?" Davis practically pleaded, his voice cracking slightly. "You're playing a joke on us. Or it's some ploy to trick Piedmon, right? You're really still on our side, aren't you?"

ChaosGrimmon turned to him, his expression cold behind his mask. "You were the most intolerable, and the hardest one not to kill."

"Nooooo!" Davis wailed, running towards the reaper Digimon.

ChaosGrimmon waved his hand. _"Call Machines!"_

From out of thin air, a cloud of nanobots appeared. Davis came to a stop as they cut him off and began backing away as the cloud of tiny robots came towards him and the others.

"Step aside," Shoutmon ordered. _"Fiery Fastball!"_

The nanobots scattered as the attack flew at them, but he still managed to incinerate a few. But there were many more where they came from, and they began moving in for the attack once more.

ChaosGrimmon turned back to Angewomon. "Now then, it's time to put you down."

From beneath her helmet, a tear ran down the angel Digimon's cheek. "How could you do this? How could you betray us like this?"

The reaper Digimon cocked his head to the side. "Betray? Oh, my silly little human, how can it be betrayal when I was never on your side?"

The tear dripped from her chin and fell to the cave floor. Slowly, her frown shifted to a snarl as her sadness gave way to anger. "You traitor!"

She fired her _Celestial Arrow_ at him. ChaosGrimmon's claw shot out, cutting the arrow to pieces. "Clearly you do not understand what treason is. _Multi Gatling!"_

He began firing bullets from his hand. Angewomon danced around the stream of gunfire. Coming to a wall, she kicked off it while using her _Super Jump_ , launching herself at the reaper Digimon. _"Heel of Justice!"_

ChaosGrimmon held up his arms to block the blow, but was unprepared for the amount of power behind it, and was sent crashing into the cave wall. He gave Angewomon a look of surprise as she flew towards him, preparing to unleash her _Holy Slap_. ChaosGrimmon reacted quickly, grabbing her arm before she could land the blow, and whirling around to slam her against the wall.

"Impressive. You've still got a fair amount of energy, even after wasting so much to heal all that damage Piedmon caused."

She glared at him from beneath her helmet. "Enough to take you down. _Angel Wing!"_

ChaosGrimmon released her and flew back as her wings swiped at him. He lashed out with his claws, but Angewomon flew straight up, and his blade buried into solid rock. Ripping his hand free, he turned to her, raising it in the air. _"Call Leyner!"_

Above Angewomon's head, a thick dark green cloud appeared. It began to rain furiously, and Angewomon cried out as the downpour fell over her. This was no ordinary rain; she knew that right away. There was poison in this rain, and she could feel it seeping into her body.

" _Saint's Air!"_ she cried, creating a tornado that blew away the poisonous cloud. She motioned towards ChaosGrimmon, and the tornado moved towards him. Against the wall as he was, the reaper Digimon was unable to escape, and the tornado flowed over him.

"A little help here!" Shoutmon cried before unleashing his _Bellow Blaster_ on the nanobots again.

Angewomon turned to him, finding her friends surrounded by the little robots. She sent her _Heaven's Charm_ their way, destroying a good portion of them, giving her friends some room to move.

" _Chaos Slash!"_ ChaosGrimmon cried from within the tornado. Angewomon turned back to him to find the reaper Digimon emerging from the vortex, spinning around rapidly in a swirl of swiping claws and blades of chaotic energy. He came at Angewomon, slashing about wildly, leaving streaks in the air.

" _Lift Your Spirits!"_ she cried, flipping in the air and kicking outward. But before her leg could make contact, ChaosGrimmon's furious swiping claws slashed at her leg. Recoiling from the cut, she retaliated with her _Holy Slap_ , only to have her arm receive the same treatment as her leg.

Pulling back, she fired her _Celestial Arrow_ , only to have it sliced apart before it made contact. Focusing all her energy into her leg, she charged her attack before unleashing her _Holy Charge Kick_ , yet not even this made it through ChaosGrimmon's deadly attack as yet another gash appeared along her thigh.

With one last attempt, Angewomon used her _Angel Wing_ attack. ChaosGrimmon's _Chaos Slash_ sliced her wings apart, sending feathers flying before he finally made contact with her. Clothes and flesh were sliced up, down, and sideways by the reaper Digimon's claw blade, the chaotic energy filling the attacks making the cuts far more painful and causing even further damage.

Stabbing forward, ChaosGrimmon buried his claw blades into Angewomon's gut. "Got you." He fired four times from his _Multi Gatling_ directly into her stomach. He tore his claws free, letting Angewomon hover in the air, clutching her stomach, her mouth hanging open in pain.

Angewomon knew this was bad. She was gravely wounded, suffering from the damage the chaotic energy was causing, and the poison that was weakening her. She didn't have much energy left, and didn't think she could spare any, but she needed to heal herself, or else she wouldn't make it.

" _Heaven's Cure!"_ she risked, turning the technique on herself. Her wounds began to heal, and her wings regenerated, the pain subsiding. Even her shredded clothes repaired themselves as the poison vanished from her body.

" _Chaos Slash!"_ ChaosGrimmon cried, and Angewomon's relief immediately gave way to agony as the reaper Digimon sliced her back, just as he had done to MagnaAngemon. He then flew above her and kicked Angewomon down to the cave floor, hitting hard enough to crack the hard rock ground.

"Kari!" several of the teens shouted as Angewomon lay trembling on the cave floor.

Jokermon giddily bounced from on foot to the other. "See, it's just like I said; a fallen angel."

ChaosGrimmon came in for a landing, glaring down at the angel Digimon in disgust. "More like a complete let down. I expected more of a challenge."

TK pointed an accusing finger at him. "You wouldn't be so cocky if you had faced us at full strength."

"Yeah," Takato agreed, "I'll bet- Ahh!" One of Shoutmon's _Fiery Fastballs_ flew by a little too close to him to take out more of the nanobots. Looking embarrassed, he attempted to ignore what had just happened. "I'll bet any of us could have beaten you if we fought you right off the bat."

The reaper Digimon turned from him and looked down at Angewomon. "Perhaps, but I guess we'll never know." He raised his claw. "Such a shame this wasn't even worth my time."

Piedmon yawned. "Then just finish it already. I've grown bored with this whole thing."

Giggling, Jokermon stepped forward. "Wait, let me do it. I haven't had a chance to have any fun."

ChaosGrimmon looked at him, then glanced at Piedmon, who just shrugged. Lowering his hand, he began walking away. "I don't care. Just see to it that they don't leave here alive."

The teens stared as both Piedmon and ChaosGrimmon headed for the exit. "Hey, where are you going?" Takuya demanded.

"We have things to do," Piedmon told him, not even looking in his direction, "and can't be bothered to waste time here anymore. Goodbye, humans, it's been a pleasure."

"Get back here!" Tai shouted to the two Digimon, but was unable to get past the cloud of tiny robots.

Angewomon struggled to lift her head as she watched Piedmon and ChaosGrimmon disappear down the tunnel. "Wait…"

Standing above her, Jokermon jabbed the end of his scythe into her back, earning him a grunt of pain from the angel Digimon. "Oh, don't worry about them; you're with me now." He laughed as he continued to jab her over and over again. "So, what should we play first?"

 **(A/N: Did I surprise you with Grimmon's betrayal, or did I make it too obvious? I figured some of you might be suspicious since he was a villain in the games, but I thought that since he was someone you would expect to be a villain, you wouldn't think he was a double agent. Know what I'm saying. And if you think about all his interaction with the teens, he never once actually stepped in to actually help them, and he was supportive of Asuramon's plan. Grimmon does have the ability to manipulate and control others, and now he's finally revealed his rue colors. Stay tuned to see what becomes of our heroes, and how this betrayal will turn out.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear or are mentioned. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/ChaosGrimmon**


	68. Chapter 68: Old Friends and Old Wounds

**(A/N: Alrighty then, we're back with more. Remember how I said a few chapters back that something would come into play later, well, it's happening in this chapter.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 68: Old Friends and Old Wounds**

Angewomon's pained cries echoed through the cave as Jokermon continued to assault her. At the very least, he hadn't used any actual attacks on her yet; she likely wouldn't survive if he did, or at the very least be unable to hold her Digimon form. Instead he opted for punching or kicking her.

"Come on," Jokermon goaded, as began kicking her side, "get up and face me. How can I knock you down if you don't stand up?"

He apparently found this to be hilarious. The teens, however, weren't the least bit amused, but were unable to help until Shoutmon cleared out the last of ChaosGrimmon's miniature robots.

"You'll pay for this," TK promised the clown Digimon. "I swear you'll pay!"

Jokermon frowned at him. "Oooh, why so serious?" He began cackling madly. "You see, I told you I was going to start saying that." He cupped his cheeks. "I like the way it sounds."

A groan came from Angewomon as she climbed to her feet, shoulders slumped, wings drooping, arms hanging uselessly at her sides as she breathed heavily. She knew that she didn't have enough power left to heal her injuries, but she wasn't willing to give up. "I'm not… done yet…"

Jokermon chuckled in amusement as he twirled around his scythe, speaking in a singsong voice. "Spirit's willing, body's trash, time to feel my _Lunatic Slash!"_

He swung his scythe flinging a blade of energy from the sickle. Angewomon cried out and stumbled back, a deep gash going across her arms and torso. She fell over, facing her friends. Looking at them, even with Shoutmon using his _Bellow Blaster_ , ChaosGrimmon's nanobots were closing in on them. She couldn't save herself, she knew that, but maybe she could save them.

" _Bliss of Saints…"_ she whispered, holding out her hand, and rainbow light flowed from her palm. It flowed over to her friends, and the nanobots were sucked into the light, disappearing into it. A smile grazed her face, a moment before the blade of Jokermon's scythe stabbed into her back.

"Pay attention to your surroundings," Jokermon told her with a smile. He pulled his scythe free. "You could get stabbed in the back."

Angewomon seemed unable to find her voice as a silent mumble of pain escaped her. She heard her friends calling her, but their voices sounded very far away. She collapsed, having no strength left, and finally returned to her human form.

"Oh my," said Jokermon, reaching down and picking her up. "I guess she needed her beauty sleep."

"Put her down!" Tai shouted.

"Certainly. Here, catch."

He tossed Kari to the teens rather hard. Tai, Davis, and TK all ran forward to catch her, and she crashed into all three of them, knocking them all off their feet.

"Sorry…" she grumbled, barely conscious.

"Oh, you're going to be sorry alright," Jokermon said with a smile. "Sorry you ever came here that is."

Shoutmon suddenly charged past the teens. "I'll make you sorry! _Rock and Roller!"_

Smirking, Jokermon swung his scythe, cutting Shoutmon's mic in two. The dragon Digimon stood still, holding his broken mic, completely at a loss. Jokermon flashed him a toothy grin before his fist flew through the air, slamming into Shoutmon's face. The dragon Digimon shot backwards, crashing into the wall and dropping to the floor with dizzy swirls in his eyes.

"Shoutmon!" Takato cried, running over to him. He picked up his friend, cradling him in his arms. "You ok?"

"I'm fine," the dragon Digimon replied, sounding completely out of it. "Just gonna take a little nap."

He seemed to pass out after that, and Jokermon laughed as he twirled around his scythe. "Now he lay down his little head; when he awakes, he will be dead." His grin widened. "Well, in an egg. Can't say the same for you humans though. You don't come back to life after you die. Such a shame." He held out his scythe. "Well, here's to wherever you're going." The smile on his face and the look in his eyes seemed to change as he spoke, shifting from joyful amusement to sadistic madness. "But then, you never belonged in this world to begin with."

The teens bunched up as the clown Digimon advanced on them. With his face partly hidden in the shadows, the light from the torches reflecting in his eyes, he truly looked like a deranged maniac. Yet there was nothing they could do. Their Digivices had no power left, and Shoutmon was out cold. Even if the clown Digimon were an ordinary human, that lethal-looking scythe he was wielding made him as deadly as the grim reaper himself.

"Better say your goodbyes," Jokermon told them. "It's the end of the line. _Gia Magi-"_

" _Jack Hammer!"_

The cry came from the cell Santamon was in, and then bars went flying off its hinges as something smashed into it from the inside. All heads turned to the cell in surprise, Jokermon's with disbelief. "What? But that's impossible. We had Santamon bound and were draining his power; he shouldn't have the strength to break out."

"That's because I'm not Santamon." From out of the cell, a small purple and white Digimon emerged. He was smaller than Shoutmon, and even resembled him a bit in appearance. At the end of his tail, there was a sludge hammer with a gold ring clamped around it.

Jokermon stared at this new arrival, dumbfounded. "What the? How did you get in there?"

The Digimon pointed to the entrance of the cavern. "I peaked in here earlier when these guys were fighting Piedmon. I saw where Santamon's cell was, so I doubled back and," he spun around, slamming the hammer at the end of his tail against the cave wall, shattering it, "broke my way through into the cell from the other side without anyone knowing it and freed Santamon. He's already long gone from here."

Davis suddenly pointed at the newcomer. "Hey, isn't he that purple Digimon we saw entering the town when Airdramon dropped us off up here?"

The purple Digimon cracked his head side to side. "Yeah, she tired to make me leave too; said some other pointless rescue mission for Santamon was already underway. I didn't listen to her."

Davis blinked. "Useless?"

Jokermon was still staring at the purple Digimon. "Santamon's gone? He escaped?" He suddenly grabbed his head and began screaming madly. "NOOOO! Piedmon and ChaosGrimmon are going to be so bad!" He suddenly looked thoughtful, his hysteria gone. "Oh my, I guess we're getting nothing for Jesmas."

This soon gave way to his deranged laughter. The purple Digimon just glared at him before suddenly charging forward. _"Fire Vortex!"_

He began somersaulting in the air, his hammer tail igniting. Jokermon stopped laughing at the last moment and blocked with his scythe, sneering at the dragon Digimon. However, this didn't deter his opponent. _"Jacked Hammer!"_

He spun around, swinging his tail. The sludge hammer at the end of it grew to an enormous size, smashing into Jokermon and sending him crashing into the wall. Even though the clown Digimon was the enemy, Takato couldn't help but wince. "I guess that's how he broke through the cell. Who is that little guy?"

Jokermon stood up, grinning. "Is it not obvious? He's dead. _Lunatic Slash!"_

He flung an energy blade at the purple Digimon, who used his _Ran-gum Break_ , smashing his hammer tail against the energy blade. Then Jokermon was suddenly there, kicking outward. The purple Digimon went flying backwards, back into the cell and even through the hole he had made in the wall to get into Santamon's cell.

Jokermon chuckled. "Two points. But really, was he actually foolish enough to think he could beat me as a Rookie." He turned back to the teens. "Now then, where were we?"

The group prepared themselves, ready for anything, but it seemed the newcomer wasn't done yet as the cell lit up with a familiar golden light. Moments later, a much larger, far more ferocious dragon Digimon shot out of the cell, ramming into Jokermon and slamming him against the wall. "You were right about that Rookie remark. Guess that's what I get for trying to make an entrance."

The clown Digimon was still smiling, even as his face was being pressed against the wall. "So you Digivolved. It still won't be enough."

He swung his scythe, and the dragon Digimon jumped back. The two opponents began staring each other down, one growling, the other chuckling. Even though their Digivices were out of power, the Digimon Analyzer on them still worked, and Kari, having seemed to have woken up more, was busy getting a reading on the newly Digivolved Digimon. "Arresterdramon, Champion level. He specializes in using his tail in various ways to cut his opponents to pieces."

"Yeah, no kidding," Takuya muttered, staring at the weapon on the dragon Digimon's tail. "Look at that thing, it looks lethal."

Jokermon held up his scythe. "So does this. _Lunatic Slash!"_

" _Spin Caliper!"_ Arresterdramon countered, spinning around and cutting the energy blade in half with his tail. He then charged at Jokermon. _"Mach Flicker!"_

He began with a series of punches so fast that it looked as if numerous punches were flying at the clown Digimon all at once. Jokermon just kept laughing as he twirled his scythe, using the weapon to deflect the punches.

Arresterdramon gave up and used _Spiral Shredder_ , rapidly spinning around while swinging his deadly tail. Jokermon jumped over it and kicked off the dragon Digimon. He surprised the teens by landing in front of them. Smirking, he raised his scythe to cut them all down, only to have Arresterdramon tackle him. The dragon Digimon opened his mouth, exposing his knife-like teeth, and bit deeply into Jokermon's shoulder.

The clown Digimon cried out loudly, but his scream soon gave way to a mad cackle. Making a pushup motion, launching both him and Arresterdramon into the air, slamming the dragon Digimon against the ceiling. Arresterdramon grunted, but kept his jaws clamped shut. As the two came down, Jokermon jumped backwards, crushing Arresterdramon against the wall. This finally dislodged his teeth from Jokermon's shoulder, and he jumped away from him.

Whirling away to face the dragon Digimon, he twirled his scythe over his head. "If you're hungry, eat this. _Lunatic Slash!"_

" _Eraser Flog Shot!"_ Arresterdramon countered, his tail slashing through the energy blade. _"Prism Gallet!"_

He began spinning, becoming a cutting light as he came at the clown Digimon. Jokermon just smirked and charged at him. Jumping up, he did a roundhouse kick, his foot colliding with Arresterdramon's head, sending him crashing into the wall on the other side of the cave.

Jokermon humphed, stomping his scythe on the ground. "Looks like this is as far as you go. But be satisfied that you were at least able to save Santamon. You just weren't able to save yourself as well." He glanced at the teens and grinned sadistically. "Or them."

Grunting, Arresterdramon stood up and turned back to Jokermon. "I haven't failed yet, but it looks like I should stop holding back. _Arresterdramon_ _ **Warp**_ _Digivolve to… XrosUpArresterdramon Superior Mode!"_

The light of Digivolution faded, and a new more powerful opponent now faced the surprised clown Digimon. He wasn't the only one, the last thing the teens had expected was for their rescuer to Digivolve a second time. And straight to the Mega level no less.

"This is a very deus ex machine moment," Takato commented.

Tai was checking his Digivice. "XrosUpArresterdramon Superior Mode. Boy, that's quite a name. He's a powerful Mega level dragon Digimon that takes down his enemies with his _Tail Anchor_ and _Blaze Spiker_ attacks."

Jokermon swung his scythe through the air, grinning once more. "A powerful dragon Digimon, you say. Never faced a XrosUpArresterdramon before. Lets see just how strong he is. _Lunatic Slash!"_

The blade of energy flew at XrosUpArresterdramon, but the dragon Digimon appeared unconcerned. At the last moment, he slashed at it with his tail, neutralizing the attack. Spreading his wings, he flew at the clown Digimon. Jokermon grinned and swung his scythe downward. XrosUpArresterdramon side-stepped out of the way and lashed out with his tail, cutting the scythe in half.

Jokermon stood at the broken scythe in surprise. A moment later, XrosUpArresterdramon's fist slammed into his jaw. Jokermon went down, dropping his broken scythe. He began to get up, his hand covering his throbbing mouth. He glanced at the dragon Digimon, staring at him for a few seconds before his shoulders began shaking with silent giggles. It wasn't long before he let his hand drop and was once again roaring with laughter.

XrosUpArresterdramon's eyes narrowed and he lunged forward, grasping Jokermon's face and slamming his head against the cave wall. "Stop laughing!"

But Jokermon's laughter did not cease, not even when XrosUpArresterdramon began dragging him against the wall, skidding his face against the rocky surface as he charged down the tunnel. After a moment's hesitation, the teens hurried after them, Takato carrying the unconscious Shoutmon.

XrosUpArresterdramon burst out of the cave and threw Jokermon out onto the ledge. The clown Digimon was still laughing madly, despite nearly having his face sandpapered off. XrosUpArresterdramon had had more than enough of his opponent and moved in for the kill. "It's time to end this. _Blaze-"_

"No, wait!" Tai shouted as he and the others rushed outside. The dragon Digimon stopped and glanced at him questioningly. "We need to know where Piedmon and ChaosGrimmon are." He looked at Jokermon. "It'll go a lot easier for you if you just tell us."

More deranged laughter, and Jokermon stumblingly got to his feet and turned to them, still wearing a smile. "No need to make threats. If you want to rush off to your deaths, I won't stop you." He pointed off into the distance. 'There's a Dark Tower several miles in that direction. There you will find them both." He snickered some more. "I'm sure they'll give you a very warm welcome. But first, allow me to see you off. _Gaia Magi-"_

XrosUpArresterdramon stabbed forward with his tail. The blade at the end of it stabbed through Jokermon's chest and burst out his back. The clown Digimon stood frozen, impaled on XrosUpArresterdramon's tail. The dragon Digimon lifted his tail and flicked it, flinging Jokermon off the blade. The clown Digimon went flying off the edge, laughing all the while, even as his body began to dissolve. His laughter grew fainter as he fell, leaving a trail of data particles in his wake before he hit the ground, the remainder of his body bursting into data, and then he was gone.

Davis walked over and looked down the mountainside. "Geez, that guy was completely out of his mind."

"It was in his nature," XrosUpArresterdramon told him. "Everything, even his own death, was one big joke to him. It's not easy for a Digimon to go against its nature, which is why the form a Digimon Digivolves into basically reflects their personality."

Kari glanced at the dragon Digimon in Takato's arms. "That's why Shoutmon became BlackShoutmon when Devimon's black gear took him over; it made him bad, so his form changed to match."

XrosUpArresterdramon raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure what you mean about black gears, but yes, if it changes one's personality to a wicked one, it can force them into a Dark Digivolution form. Or, if they don't have one, when they next Digivolve, they'll take one on."

He turned to the teens, studying them with interest. "I must admit, I'm a little perplexed by you humans. I heard enough of the conversation to understand some of it, but I still have questions."

TK chuckled. "Believe me, you're not the only one."

"Yeah, like, why did you wait so long to step in and help us?" Davis asked. "Who are you anyway?"

XrosUpArresterdramon looked upon the horizon. "Just someone trying to clean up the trash."

Davis' eyes widened, and he glanced at his friends. "Ok, that was one awesome introductory line," he told them, not realizing that the dragon Digimon hadn't answered his first question.

Takuya pointed to the dragon Digimon. "Um, you did something when you Digivolved. You went straight from the Champion level right to the Mega level. How'd you bypass the Ultimate level like that?"

"Warp Digivolving," XrosUpArresterdramon replied. "Once a Digimon manages to unlock the Mega level, it can jump straight to its previous stages if it ever goes go back to a lower level. In my case, I skipped over my Ultimate level Arresterdramon Superior Mode form to go straight to my Mega level XrosUpArresterdramon Superior Mode, which I had managed to reach just a few months ago."

Takuya snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah, Shoutmon mention Warp Digivolving as a type of Digivolution."

XrosUpArresterdramon glanced at unconscious Shoutmon. "Why are you hanging around _him_ of all people?"

The teens looked surprised at this. They glanced questioningly at Shoutmon, then back at XrosUpArresterdramon. "What do you mean?" Kari asked. "He's our friend. He's been helping us to get back home."

The dragon Digimon's eyes narrowed. "He's not anyone's friend. He's just using you. That's all he does, hide behind and use others. Some Digimon King."

Takuya pointed an accusing finger at him. "That's not true."

"No? I couldn't help but notice that he wasn't doing any of the fighting, not until he was the only one left to do anything, in which case you all would have died if he didn't step in."

"Well…" Takato muttered as he glanced down at the dragon Digimon in his arms, "he was warding off ChaosGrimmon's machine."

"While leaving you to fight the real battle. He's a weakling and a coward who's using you for your power, and he'll abandon you at a moment's notice if he needs to."

"Hey, shut up!" Tai snapped. "We're grateful to you for saving us, but we're not going to let you badmouth our friend."

The raised voiced seemed to rouse Shoutmon, and he groaned in Takato's arms. "Ow, my head. What happened?"

XrosUpArresterdramon glared at him. "Well, look who's awake now that the action is over. What a surprise."

Shoutmon gasped and sprang up as his gaze landed on the dragon Digimon. "Hey, you're…"

XrosUpArresterdramon began glowing with gold light. He began shrinking and changing form as he DeDigivolved. He reverted back to the Rookie level, appearing once more as the small purple Digimon with a hammer tail he was before. "Hello again, old friend."

"Gumdramon!" Shoutmon cried, leaping out of Takato's arms. "You're here! What are you doing here? I didn't know when I'd be able to see you again!"

The purple dragon Digimon just scowled at him. "As far as I'm concerned, it's too soon." He saw Shoutmon wince and crossed his arms, glancing at the teens. "I see you're still using others to do your dirty work. You're a coward, like always."

Davis was looking back and forth between the two dragon Digimon. "Wait, Gumdramon? This is the friend you told us about?"

Gumdramon raised an eyebrow. "So he told you about me, did he? I'm surprised he said I was his friend and not his subordinate."

"Gumdramon…" Shoutmon pleaded, walking towards him with his hands out.

The purple Digimon backed away from him, scowling. "Don't! Just don't! You don't get to feel bad after what you did. I thought we were friends."

"We are friends."

"Friends don't do what you did. You just abandoned me, left me for dead. How could you? I believed in you, I trusted you, I looked up to you, and you just ran away, leaving me to fight that… that… _thing_ all on my own."

Kari looked like she wanted to interfere with the fight, but a look from her brother told her not to get involved. Davis, however, didn't seem to take the hint, and slowly approached, holding his hands up. "Now, come on, you two."

Shoutmon just ignored him as he continued to plead with his friend. "You know what we were up against. There was no hope of winning. We would have died if we stayed. You _did_ die. I only survived because the Guardians arrived. But at the time, staying was death for sure."

"Then we should have fought to the death, especially if dying was the only outcome either way. I'd rather die fighting instead of running like a coward. I was ready to go down standing by my friend's side, but, apparently, you weren't. We had a responsibility. No, _you_ had a responsibility; I chose to stand by you because we were friends. Yet as I charged fearlessly into battle, you ran away and left me there. That was the last thing I saw before I died; you running away and leaving me there all alone." He crossed his arms. "Some friend."

The teens never would have believed it, but they saw a tear run down Shoutmon's cheek. "I've always regretted it. It's been tens of thousands of years since then, yet there hasn't been a day that's gone by where I didn't wish I that I had stood by you instead of running."

The purple dragon Digimon scoffed. "Fat load of good that does. You really want to make up for abandoning me, then do some good. Repent instead of regretting." He glanced at the teens. "But instead, I see you've opted for hiding behind others stronger than you." He fixed Shoutmon with a glare. "As you said, it's been tens of thousands of years since we last met, but tell me something, why are you still at the Rookie level. You were a Rookie the last time we met too. Why is that? Have you died at all during the years since we were last together."

Shoutmon fidgeted uncomfortably. "No."

"No, huh? Well, can you Digivolve and are simply staying at the Rookie level for some reason?" He received no response this time, but that was all the answer he needed. "Just as I thought. You can't Digivolve because you don't do anything to get stronger."

"He's been absorbing data," Takato defended.

Gumdramon raised an eyebrow. "From enemies that he defeated, or from ones you defeated?" When Takato fell silent, Gumdramon nodded. "Thought so." He looked back at Shoutmon. "When you stop being such a coward and actually work to make a difference rather than using others, _then_ we'll talk about me forgiving you. Until then, just stay out of my way."

With that, he hopped over the ledge, leaping down the mountainside, and disappearing once more from Shoutmon's life.

 **(A/N: Wow, talk about an unexpected outcome. I don't think that was the type of reunion Shoutmon had in mind when he wanted to see Gumdramon again. But now we've got some more insight on Shoutmon's past. Just what was it that he had run away from rather than stand by his friend? How will this reunion affect things to come? Stay tuned for more.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear or are mentioned. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Gumdramon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Arresterdramon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Arresterdramon_Superior_Mode**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/XrosUpArresterdramon#XrosUpArresterdramon_Superior_Mode**


	69. Chapter 69: The Three Great Catastrophes

**(A/N: We're gonna be getting some more history about Shoutmon's past, especially in regards to Gumdramon. This is important stuff that will be referenced many times, and some stuff will be coming into play later, so keep an eye out for it in later chapters.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 69: The Three Great Catastrophes**

"I still can't believe you did it," Airdramon told the teens on his back as she flew them through the air. "I thought you were just another batch of wannabe heroes. I never thought you'd actually pull it off."

Upon making it down the mountainside, the teens had returned to the small town below to inform Mercurymon and Airdramon of what had transpired. Both Champion Digimon were shocked and astounded by what they had heard, but one thing stood out above everything else in their tale, Santamon was free once again.

"Thou hast doneth a great thing," Mercurymon had told them. "We shall never forget this."

He had attempted to give them the reward they hadn't even known about for saving Sanatmon, but they had politely declined. After all, it was actually Gumdramon who was the real hero, but the purple dragon Digimon had already moved on to places unknown.

Airdramon's attitude had changed towards them as well. Upon learning that they were planning on going after Piedmon and ChaosGrimmon to retrieve the Kogamon and Ninjamon scrolls, she insisted on being their mode of transportation. And so, as soon as their Digivices were recharged, they had taken off for the Dark Tower Jokermon had spoke of.

"You know, you don't have to do this," TK told the dragon Digimon. "Truthfully, we're not even the ones who freed Santamon."

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, TY," Davis told him.

Airdramon just laughed. "Don't worry about it. You humans did more than enough. You may not have freed Santamon yourselves, but you did defeat six of his guards, got rid of Piedmon, and distracted Jokermon so Gumdramon could free him. Giving you a ride is the least I could do. It'll take you a while to reach the Dark Tower without…" she paused, realizing she had brought up a sensitive subject, "without Grimmon to fly you there."

Silence fell over the group. It was indeed a painful subject, and the group was still struggling with the fact that after all the time they had spent together, the reaper Digimon they had considered a friend had actually been an enemy deceiving them all along.

Tai's eyes narrowed in determination. "He made his choice. Now we have to make ours. ChaosGrimmon must be stopped. He and Piedmon both."

Takato looked down at the ground far below. "Do you think Gumdramon will be heading towards the Dark Tower too?"

All heads turned to Shoutmon. The dragon Digimon was sitting down, hugging his knees with his back to them. He was silent for a moment before finally saying quietly. "It's unlikely; he's just a wandering vagabond. He was like that when we first met, and we began traveling together when we became friends. Our reunion was just a coincidence; he just stopped by that town to see if the rumors about Santamon were true. He cleaned up the mess, then moved on, just like he always does."

He hugged himself tighter. The teens were silent, exchanging uncertain looks with each other. "Hey," said Tai, "don't worry about what Gumdramon said. He was just talking in anger. He's wrong about-"

"No," the dragon Digimon interrupted, "he's not."

The teens stared. "Shoutmon…" Kari whispered.

"It's true. I do hide behind others and get them to do my dirty work rather than do it myself." He looked at them sadly. "I even used you guys when we first met. I planned to use you to defeat my enemies and rise to the top."

More silence. Shoutmon's confession hit hard, especially with Grimmon's recent betrayal being so fresh. Yet as they thought about, when Tai had first Spirit Evolved into Greymon, Shoutmon _had_ seemed a little calculating, almost like he was coming up with a plan, and he had seemed rather excited for it.

But he had said that this had been when they first met. When had things changed? How much had changed? They all seemed to be thinking it, but it was TK who voiced it. "And now?"

"Now?" the dragon Digimon repeated. "I would give my life for you guys. I know that's not saying much to you humans since we Digimon just come back to life, but-"

"Not mean much!?" Kari exclaimed. "It means a great deal!"

"No one wants to die," TK told him. "You Digimon coming back to life afterwards doesn't make death any less horrible."

"At least not by much," Davis added, promptly earning him an elbow to the ribs from Takuya and Takato. "Oww! What'd I say?"

"The point is," said Tai, "despite what you once were, we know who you are now. People change, Shoutmon, and so do Digimon."

The dragon Digimon looked at each of them, a sad smile creeping up his face. "Thanks, you guys. But the truth is, I haven't changed all that much. I'm still a coward, never challenging myself or taking on more than I know I can handle most of the time."

He looked at his hand. "I wasn't always like this though. I was once fearless, the top of the line. I met challenges and anything thrown at me. I didn't think there was anything I couldn't do. I actually deluded myself into thinking I took precipice over most things in this world."

"Guess that superiority complex is where the whole 'Digimon King' thing came from," Davis whispered to the others.

Shoutmon didn't seem to have heard as he clenched his hand into a fist. "Then I died for the first time. I didn't think it was possible for me to be defeated. But now I see how vain I was. All my power amounted to nothing. My belief that I stood above others, that I was special, it was all torn away from me, and I was left with nothing. That… that scared me, and I've never been the same ever since."

"No one ever is," Airdramon replied, causing the teens to jump; they had actually forgotten that their ride was alive. "It's hard for everyone the first time they die. It certainly was for me. I was traumatized for decades."

Takato sweat-dropped. "Yeah, I'll bet dying would do that to you."

"Sounds kind of like PTSD," TK theorized. At Shoutmon's questioning look he elaborated. "Post traumatic stress disorder."

The dragon Digimon shook his head. "It was different for me than other Digimon. I was the Digimon King. I thought I was above everyone else. I was royalty!"

Airdramon rolled her eyes. "Sure you were."

Hugging himself again, Shoutmon shivered. "Dying really changed my perspective on things. I became afraid. What Gumdramon said was true, I never did more than what I knew I could accomplish. I used shortcuts, took the coward's way out. Only to die again, needing to start over once more from scratch. So many deaths…"

Sighing deeply, he sat back. "Then one day in Primary Village, I met Gumdramon, or Pichimon as he was back then. He was the egg beside mine; we hatched only a few hours apart. We became fast friends, and when we Digivolved to In-Training, we ventured out into the Digital World together." He chuckled. "Things were different this time. I wasn't on my own anymore. The two of us were best friends, inseparable. Once I rose to power again, I was going to make him my top knight."

He frowned slightly. "Being with him helped, but I was still unable to get over my past. I relied on Gumdramon a lot. Too much. Sure, I had his back too, but there were still times when I wanted to retreat rather than fight. Gumdramon helped me find my courage again though, and I began meeting those challenges. It felt like we could do anything as long as we were together."

"It sounds like you two were pretty close," Takuya said with a smile.

The dragon Digimon nodded. "We were." His expression grew dark. "That is, until that _thing_ showed up. The Third Catastrophe."

Beneath them, Airdramon briefly lost altitude as if she had been startled. "The Third Catastrophe? You actually faced that monstrosity?"

"What's the Third Catastrophe?" Kari asked.

"A Digimon," Shoutmon replied. "A Digimon unlike anything the Digital World had ever seen, and more terrible than you could possibly imagine. There have only been three Great Catastrophes in all of history. The first you know about, the D-Reaper."

The teens gasped. They still remembered the horrible story of the D-Reaper, and how Jesmon managed to seal it away, thus resulting in the holiday Jesmas. If this Third Catastrophe Digimon was anything like the D-Reaper…

"No one could have possibly imagined any Digimon could come to be," Airdramon told them, "not after the Second Catastrophe."

Takuya glanced down at him curiously. "So the Second Catastrophe was a Digimon too?"

"The Second Catastrophe was nothing compared to the Third," Shoutmon continued. "Not even the First. The Third only lasted a short time, and thank the Digimon God for that, otherwise, not just the Digital World, but even the human world would have been annihilated. This was an evil god Digimon capable of freely moving through space and time. An unstoppable force of destruction that had come to be only through the most precise and exact perfect combination of elements. The Digimon God knew of his eventual coming though. Homeostasis even made a prediction of it once. When he appeared, the Digimon God himself actually had to step in and seal off the monster's true destructive power, and he never directly interferes with then Digital World, but even that wasn't enough."

"Geez, how bad could one Digimon be?" Takato wondered out loud.

Airdramon shook her head. "Don't know, I wasn't there. I've only heard the stories, and I thank the Sovereigns for that."

Not satisfied, Tai turned to the smaller dragon Digimon for answers. "Shoutmon?"

But he didn't answer. Shoutmon was literally blue in the face, his eyes wide and unseeing, caught up in a flashback. He could see it as if it were happening right in front of him. A tornado of silvery blue and reddish bronze, it was like standing in the middle of the worst hurricane in history with a destructive power infinitely greater than any man-made weapon. Time and space itself were torn apart by its very presence, the horror of that unleashed power apparent.

He was shaking uncontrollably now, hugging himself once more as his claws dug into his skin deep enough to draw blood. He seemed completely oblivious to the pain and everything around him as well.

"Uh, Shoutmon?" TK asked worriedly. He reached out and shook him. "Shoutmon!"

The dragon Digimon blinked, coming back to the present. "Huh? What? Oh, sorry. I was, um, I mean… Sorry."

"Hey, it's ok," Davis told him. "It sounds like it was pretty bad."

Tai nodded. "I definitely agree with TK's theory of PTSD, both for the first time you died and for your experience with this Third Catastrophe thing."

Shoutmon sighed again. "In any case, once that monstrosity appeared, I knew it was all over for us. Gumdramon did too, but he wasn't willing to run away. He knew we were going to die, but he wanted to die fighting by my side." He hung his head, grasping it in his hands. "But I was too afraid. I ran away and left him there to die alone. I was a coward."

"Shoutmon, there was nothing you could have done," Tai told him.

"That's not true. I could have stayed. I could have died an honorable death fighting beside my friend instead of running away, only for death to catch me in the end."

"But you survived," Davis pointed out.

"By pure dumb luck, because help arrived at that exact moment. But if I had stayed, then perhaps the two of us working together could have lasted long enough until the Guardians arrived."

Takato raised an eyebrow, having recalled Shoutmon mentioning something about Guardians when he was talking to Gumdramon. "Who are the Guardians?"

Shoutmon just waved this off. "That's a story for another time. We're talking about me and my cowardice right now."

Tai shook his head. "I don't think it was really cowardice. It sounds like instinct took over. When someone becomes fearful enough, instinct takes over, and they go into what's called 'fight or flight mode'. It sounds like you went into flight mode."

Shoutmon just snorted. "So you're saying I was so afraid that I lost my senses. Nice." He punched down, making Airdramon grunt. "I should have been braver."

Kari reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We can't live on what-ifs, Shoutmon. We have to move forward, or we'll just let our regrets consume us."

He slapped her hand away. "What-ifs aren't the problem. Instinct or cowardice, the fact of the matter is that I abandoned my friend to die because I was too afraid; just to save my own skin, even though I knew I wouldn't be able to escape." He looked up at the sky. "And deep down, I'm still the same coward, unwilling to fight when the situation gets too difficult."

TK suddenly grabbed him and turned him around. "Well then, that's the answer."

The dragon Digimon blinked. "Huh? What is?"

"Change yourself. If there's something you don't like about yourself, then work to change it. Become someone you can be proud of."

Tai nodded. "He's right. That's part of life, growing and bettering yourself as a person."

Shoutmon stared at them for a few moments before looking away. "I don't know how."

"One step at a time," Kari said with a smile. "One step at a time. Acknowledging you have a problem is the first step. One day, you'll be able to look back and see how far you've come, and you'll wonder how you ever came so far. You've already come a long way."

"She's right," Davis agreed. "The Shoutmon we know is nothing like the pathetic coward Gumdramon was talking- Ow! What was that for, Takuya?"

The older boy just shook his head. "You can do it, Shoutmon. We have faith in you."

Beneath them, Airdramon cleared her throat. "I hope your faith holds up, 'cause we're almost there."

The attention shifted from Shoutmon to the land below. Before them stood a tall cylindrical tower, a dark reddish black in color with an ominous atmosphere about it. The Dark Tower was an appropriate name for the structure, and it seemed just like the place where Piedmon and ChaosGrimmon would hang out.

"I don't see any guards," Takato noted.

"We might have killed them all back at the mountain," Davis pointed out.

Flying around the tower, Airdramon wasn't sure where to go. "Do you want me to land on top of the tower, or at the bottom?"

Tai considered this. "Lets start at the top. This way we can just make our way down to the bottom."

The dragon Digimon nodded. "Top it is." He began heading back up, but as he flew, something flew out of the tower windows and began flying down towards them. "Um, guys, we have a problem."

They had noticed it too. A swarm of ChaosGrimmon's nanobots were coming at them, in much greater numbers than in the cave. Airdramon fired her _Spinning Needle_ , destroying a fair few, but there were far too many, and the swarm flowed over the group.

" _Fiery Fastball!"_ Shoutmon cried. _"Fiery Fastball! Fiery Fastball! Bellow Blaster! Fiery Fastball!_ I hate these stupid things!"

"You and me both," Davis grumbled as he swatted at the tiny robots.

As Airdramon destroyed several more with her _Wing Cutter_ , something even more alarming drew her attention. "We have another problem."

High in the sky, a massive green cloud was forming above the tower. The teens recognized it as ChaosGrimmon's _Fool Rainer_ attack, the deadly cloud ready to unleash its poisonous rain.

"It's ChaosGrimmon!" Tai cried

"Guess that confirms that he's here," said TK. "We better Spirit Evolve. _Execute! Spirit Evolution… MagnaAngemon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… MetalGreymon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Paildramon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution…WarGrowlmon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Angewomon!"_

The downpour started, the poisonous rain soaking the DigiDestined. Shoutmon sought cover beneath Airdamon's horns, but still ended up getting wet. The nanobots didn't seem to be affected by the toxic rain though, and they latched onto Airdramon, dragging her to the base of the tower.

"I guess we're starting at the bottom after all," BurningGreymon commented as he carried WarGrowlmon to the ground.

The nanobots slammed Airdramon into the ground, immediately dispersing after that. The DigiDestined landed beside her, and MetalGreymon picked up the dragon Digimon. "Someone get us out of this rain!"

"I'm on it," Angewomon replied. " _"Heaven's Charm!"_

Rather then seeking an entrance, she simply blasted one in the side of the Dark Tower big enough for even the largest of them to fit through, and they all slipped inside. The nanobots did not follow.

"MagnaAngemon," said MetalGreymon.

The angel Digimon nodded, no further words needed. _"Magna Antidote!"_ His healing light flowed over them, and the poison from the toxic rain was purged from their bodies.

Not too worse for wear, the group now stood in the Dark Tower. They looked around the gloomy insides, not sure where to go, exchanging uncertain glances with each other. "Now what?" Paildramon asked.

As if to answer his question, the swarm of nanobots suddenly flew inside. They swirled around the group for a few seconds before flying off, going through a door on the other side of the room.

"Are we supposed to follow them?" Angewomon wondered out loud.

BurningGreymon growled. "I smell a trap."

"As do I," MetalGreymon agreed. "Keep your eyes peeled."

Yet despite the warning bells going off, there were no surprises as they followed the mini-robots. No tricks, no traps, just one room leading into another, until they eventually came to what could only be called a fighting arena. The room was massively large, and contained a ring that seemed to be for the sole purpose of viewing some spectacle. Resembling the Roman Colosseum, there were numerous seats all around the arena, and the nanobots were swarming in the middle of it.

"What is this?" WarGrowlmon wondered out loud.

"This," a voice spoke from within the swirling swarm of nanobots, "is where you die."

The nanobots dispersed, revealing a certain reaper Digimon standing in the arena. Paildramon glared at him in disgust. "ChaosGrimmon."

"You weren't supposed to make it out of those caves alive," the reaper Digimon growled.

"And you weren't supposed to betray us," WarGrowlmon told him.

"It seems you still don't know the difference between a mole and a traitor. No matter. Soon I'll be rid of you humans for good."

MagnaAngemon pointed his sword at him. "You're outnumbered. Do you really think you can defeat all of us?"

ChaosGrimmon cocked his head to the side. "You seem to be under the impression that I will be fighting all of you at once. I am not so foolish. This will be a continuation of our battle from back in the cave. A one-on-one fight. Either to the death, or elimination upon being knocked from the ring."

MetalGreymon stomped his foot, making the entire tower shake. "We're not playing your game anymore."

"Oh, I think you will."

Something dropped down from up above, and Piedmon landed in the middle of the group. The DigiDestined jumped away on reflex as the clown Digimon pulled a handkerchief out of his sleeve. _"Clown Trick!"_

He threw the cloth in the air. It grew in size and draped over Airdramon, bringing the dragon Digimon down from the air. She roared beneath the cloth, but her roar soon trailed off and fell silent. The lump beneath the cloth then began to shrink until the dragon Digimon was gone.

"What?" Angewomon gasped. "What happened to her?"

Chuckling, Piedmon picked up the oversized handkerchief. Airdramon was indeed gone, but not completely. In her place was a keychain, and dangling from it was a small figurine that was unmistakably Airdramon.

The DigiDestined looked on in horror. "What did you do to her?" BurningGreymon demanded.

The clown Digimon held up the Airdramon keychain. "I just added her to my collection. And gained the perfect leverage to get you humans to play our little game." He grasped the keychain tightly. "Unless you want me to crush your little friend here to dust, you'll cooperate."

The DigiDestined glared at him, cursing themselves for not expecting something like this. "Well, she's not really our friend…" Paildramon tried.

"Paildramon, don't bother," MetalGreymon told him. "He got us. Again. We can't bluff our way out of this. We don't have a choice. Very well, we'll play your game."

Chuckling, Piedmon flew up into the box seats and sat down, making himself comfortable. "I knew you'd see things our way. You humans are far too caring." He sat back, putting his feet up. "Make it a good show."

WarGrowlmon glared up at him. "I really hate that guy."

"We'll deal with him soon enough," MagnaAngemon assured him. He looked back at ChaosGrimmon. "Once we take care of this guy."

"I call dibs," BurningGreymon declared. "I want the first go at him."

"Fine," said MetalGreymon. "Just be careful. Remember what he's capable of."

"How could I forget?"

He entered the arena, making his way over to ChaosGrimmon. The reaper Digimon stared at him hungrily, running his blades against each other. "I'm looking forward to this. Truthfully, I was very unsatisfied with what happened back at the cave. I wanted to beat you humans at your best."

BurningGreymon glared at him. "Even fighting us one-on-one, do you really think you can beat all us of? Six Ultimates?"

ChaosGrimmon chuckled knowingly. "You make a good point. I am strong, but the odds are not exactly in my favor. Piedmon!"

The clown Digimon smirked. "It's time then? Very well, here it goes."

He tossed a glowing sphere towards the reaper Digimon. It was the size of a basketball and appeared to be made entirely out of Fractal Code. ChaosGrimmon snatched it out of the air and held it up for the others to see.

BurningGreymon didn't have a good feeling about this. "What is that?"

"This," said ChaosGrimmon, "is pure data. All the data we forcibly harvest from Santamon since his capture, over two years worth. He would usually produce this and give it to the good Baby, In-Training, and Rookie Digimon throughout the Digital World on Jesmas to help them Digivolve, but now it's mine."

No, BurningGreymon definitely didn't like the way this felt. "And what are you going to do with it?"

"I may be a reaper Digimon, but it's in my nature to use, manipulate, and control others. As you can imagine, that can make it difficult to become stronger since I rarely get involved in a fight, but rather cause the destruction on the sidelines. As such, I've been having a tough time gaining enough power to unlock my Mega form, but I think this will do the trick, don't you?"

No, this was most definitely not a good thing. "And if it's not enough? If you still can't Digivolve, the you'll be stuck at the Ultimate level, left to fight all six of us as you are."

"Yes," ChaosGrimmon agreed, "it's a gamble, but I think the odds are in my favor. Lets see if I'm right."

He pressed the ball of data to his chest, and it sank into his body. He lit up for a moment as he assimilated the data, then he exhaled deeply. "Well, it looks like I was right. Brace yourselves, humans. _ChaosGrimmon_ _ **Mega**_ _Digivolve to… ExoGrimmon!"_

Despite Shoutmon's claims, Mega levels did indeed seem to favor larger sizes. In his Mega form, ExoGrimmon resembled a giant mechanical dragon with an axe on his tail and numerous blades sticking out of his body. He was very intimidating to look at, and BurningGreymon unconsciously took a step back. "Somehow, I knew this was coming."

Piedmon began clapping his hands as he watched in the box seats. "Good show. I guess extracting all that data from Santamon paid off after all. Such a shame he got away."

Shoutmon's fists clenched together tightly. "Damn it!" He produced his mic and began slamming it on the floor, bending it out of shape. "Why does this keep happening!?"

Taking a step forward, ExoGrimmon stared down at BurningGreymon hungrily. "Now then, to answer your question of whether or not I think I can beat all six of you, the answer is yes, I think I'll manage that just fine."

 **(A/N: Well that's not good. Now our heroes have a Mega to deal with. And they can't even team up to fight this time with Piedmon holding Airdramon hostage. This is going to be a problem. But we also learned some more about Shoutmon, and of these events called the Three Great Catastrophes. The D-Reaper was the first, and the second and third were two very powerful Digimon. But what type of Digimon could be on par with the D-Reaper. We know that Shoutmon fled during the Third Catastrophe while Gumdramon stayed to fight, only to die in the process. There's still a lot of questions to be answered and more battles to fight, so stay tuned for more.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear or are mentioned. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/ExoGrimmon**


	70. Chapter 70: Elimination

**(A/N: It's time for the big confrontation with the traitorous ChaosGrimmon. Actually, it's ExoGrimmon now, not good. And is he actually a traitor if he was actually never on the DigiDestined's side? Will BurningGreymon be able to defeat him? Remember, this is an elimination battle, so he can still win if he knocks ExoGrim mon out of the ring. Lets see how things go.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 70: Elimination**

"I'm not afraid of you," BurningGreymon declared.

ExoGrimmon laughed as he took another step towards him. "Don't make me laugh. You're so afraid, I can smell it. And rightfully so. I possess the power of the gods."

"What does that mean?"

" _Air God!"_ At his call, the sky tore open, almost as if it were a movie screen being ripped apart. Behind the tear, the DigiDestined could just barely make out the silhouette of a divine being. The air god held out their hand, and lightning began raining from the sky. BurningGreymon began leaping around the arena, trying to avoid the bolts of lightning. He got too close to ExoGrimmon, and the reaper Digimon punched down towards him. BurningGreymon dodged the blow, but the force of the impact from ExoGrimmon's fist shattering the arena floor still sent him flying.

Jumping up, BurningGreymon returned his attention to the sky. The air god was gone, as was the rip in the sky, or ceiling, or wherever the rip had appeared. His gaze shifted back to ExoGrimmon, and he fired his _Pyro Barrage_. The energy bullets slammed against the reaper Digimon, but did no visible damage. With a flick of his tail, the axe at the end of it flew towards BurningGreymon. He ducked beneath it, and used _Salamander Glide_ , flying towards the reaper Digimon.

" _Prominence!"_ ExoGrimmon cried, breathing a massive stream of fire. BurningGreymon came to a stop in the air and quickly unleashed his _Wildfire Tsunami_. The two fire attacks collided, fighting against each other for a brief moment before ExoGrimmon's overpowered BurningGreymon's. The dragon Digimon covered his head and folded his wings around himself as the flames consumed him. He hit the arena floor hard as the tiles around him were reduced to ashes.

"Fool," ExoGrimmon growled. "Did you really think that an Ultimate level attack could counter a Mega's?"

BurningGreymon struggled to get up, his body singed. "I am… the master of fire… I'm resistant to heat."

"Resistant, but not immune."

Feeling disoriented, BurningGreymon took a step towards him. "I can take… anything you…" He fell to one knee. "What's wrong with me? I feel so… vulnerable."

ExoGrimmon laughed. "That would be the affects of my attack. The flames of my _Prominence_ lower my opponents' defense."

"Lowers their defense?" WarGrowlmon repeated. "What is this, an RPG?"

"I don't know what an RPG is," ExoGrimmon commented, "but this will definitely be your downfall."

BurningGreymon studied his opponent, sizing him up as he came up with his plan. "Technically, I don't have to kill you to win, just knock you out of the ring."

ExoGrimmon smirked, seeing where he was going with this. "If you can."

"Well, in that case… _Fire Below!"_ He fired a laser at the ground by ExoGrimmon's feet. The ground exploded beneath his right foot, throwing him off balance. _"Burning Grey Blaster!"_

Covering himself in fire, he flew at the reaper Digimon, slamming into his chest. ExoGrimmon stumbled back towards the edge of the ring as BurningGreymon pushed him back, trying to force him out of bounds.

ExoGrimmon's fist came down on BurningGreymon, knocking him to the arena floor. "Impressive. I have to admit, that was a nice try. You almost knocked me out." He kicked the dragon Digimon towards the other side of the ring. "But in the end, it was futile. _Chrono Destruction!"_

The attack came at BurningGreymon. He barely had time to get to his feet before it struck. The resounding blast blew apart a portion of the arena. Pieces of it went flying, the data scattering as the attack consumed the area.

ExoGrimmon grinned. "My _Chrono Destruction_ completely destroys data. I'm afraid there won't be anything left of your friend."

The DigiDestined looked on in horror at the damage ExoGrimmon's attack had caused. "It can't be…" MagnaAngemon whispered. "Takuya!"

There was a coughing from inside the smoke. "I'm here." And it was indeed Takuya lying in a crater in the ring, having returned to human form. "I'm fine… still here…"

A growl ExoGrimmon. "So you survived. No matter, I'll end you now."

He began stomping towards Takuya. The boy tried to get up, but couldn't seem to find the strength after taking on a hit from ExoGrimmon's attack. His friends made a move to go to him, but a whistle from up above drew their attention. Looking up at Piedmon, they saw him shake his finger at them as if they were naughty children, then hold up Airdramon's keychain for them to see.

"Damn you," MetalGreymon growled. He looked back at Takuya. "We still have to help."

"But Airdramon-" WarGrowlmon began.

"Will come back after he dies. Takuya won't. We've got to help."

Before anyone could even make a decision, one of Piedmon's swords stabbed into the ground in front of them. When they turned to him again, he reached up to slightly unsheathe another sword, his threat evident.

Shoutmon growled. "Don't bother. He'll cut us down before we even reach the arena."

Despite his condition, Takuya heard his friends' conversation, and knew they wouldn't be able to help him with Piedmon looming over them. If he didn't do something fast, he would lose much more than this match.

Wait, that was it! Gripping the shredded arena floor, he dragged himself out of the crater. ExoGrimmon was almost directly over him, ready to deliver the finishing blow. Takuya reached out and grabbed the edge of the arena, pulling himself along and dropping onto the floor.

"I'm out of the ring!" he panted. "The match is over!" He looked up at the reaper Digimon. "You're eliminated if you're killed or knocked out of the ring, right?"

ExoGrimmon stopped, taken aback. A growl escaped him as he glared at the boy. "You coward."

Takuya returned the glare. "You've got no right to call anyone a coward, not after you waited until we were all out of strength the first time before you fought us, or until you demanded we face you one-on-one only after you stole Santamon's data to Digivolve to Mega."

The reaper Digimon took a step towards him. "I could still kill you now."

"That won't be necessary," Piedmon announced. _"Clown Trick!"_

He tossed out a handkerchief. It grew as it fell, draping over Takuya. His friends called out his name as his form shrank beneath the cloth. It then flew into the air, returning to Piedmon's hand. By the time it reached the clown Digimon, it was back to its original size. Piedmon shook it, and a Takuya keychain dropped into his hand. "Another one for my collection."

WarGrowlmon pointed up at him. "Hey, what gives?"

The clown Digimon chuckled. "What? Did you think there would be no consequences for losing? No, no, my friends." He held up the Takuya keychain. "This is the fate of all those who are eliminated."

"You bastard," MetalGreymon growled.

"Don't worry," ExoGrimmon told him. "You'll be joining him soon. Or you'll be dead. Either or. Personally, I prefer the latter."

The DigiDestined glared at him with open hostility. "Great, so what now?" Paildramon muttered.

"Either MagnaAngemon or Angewomon should fight," Shoutmon replied. "They're the strongest of us."

"Then I'll fight next," Angewomon stated, beating MagnaAngemon to the punch.

"Wait," her fellow angel Digimon protested, "let me."

"No, this is my fight. We never finished things back at the cave."

"But, Angewomon-" MetalGreymon began.

"No buts. I'm going."

Before anyone else could protest, she flew into the ring. ExoGrimmon just sneered at her. "So, you're ready for round two?"

Angewomon knew he was referring to her defeat back in the caves. "Unless you plan on running away again."

That knocked the grin of the reaper Digimon's face. "My mistake last time was letting someone else finish you off. I will not make that mistake again."

"And I won't make the mistake of thinking you're my friend. _Lift Your Spirits!"_

She jumped up and kicked him, but ExoGrimmon's hand shot out and grabbed her leg before she could land the blow. She gasped in surprise as ExoGrimmon sneered at her and slammed her down in the ground. He did it again, forming a crater beneath her, and Angewomon used _Super Jump,_ blasting out of his grip, the holy energy singeing his hand.

Taking to the air, she unleashed her _Heaven's Charm_. ExoGrimmon stumbled back as the attack blasted him in the face, and then countered with his _Prominence,_ breathing a stream of fire at her. Remembering the flames' affects, Angewomon used her _Bliss of Saints_ to absorb the attack and converted it into energy for her own attack. _"Holy Arrow!"_

The lightning bolt hit ExoGrimmon's shoulder, and he growled at the angel Digimon in response. "Nice move. Now absorb this. _Air God!"_

Just like before, the sky ripped open, and the air god beyond the rip rained down lightning upon Angewomon. She flew about, trying to avoid the stream of electricity. She wasn't able to do so for long, and a bolt struck her. She fell from the sky, her body smoking.

As the air god vanished, ExoGrimmon once again became the primary threat. "I have another god at my disposal as well. Allow me to introduce the two of you. _Death God!"_

Once again, the sky was torn open, but this time, a different god lay beyond the rip. Raising its hand, four beams flew from its palm. They struck the arena and flowed across it, cutting the hard marble apart like tissue paper. Angewomon used her _Super Jump_ to avoid the attack; the arena now tore into four sides.

" _Heaven's Charm!"_ she cried, once again hitting ExoGrimmon in the face with the same attack. This time though, he didn't stumble back, he merely winced, the damage less significant.

"Surprise?" he taunted. "I should have mentioned that the lightning the air god unleashes reduces the victim's attack power." He chuckled. "That's right. I can reduce an opponent's attack and defense."

Angewomon refused to be intimidated. "Can you actually fight on your own, or can you only summon gods to attack for you. _Heel of Justice!"_

Her foot collided with his head, snapping it to the side. ExoGrimmon was scowling now, either from her attack or her remark, but soon broke out into a grin. "You tell me. _Chrono Destruction!"_

As he unleashed his attack, Angewomon flew back and fired her _Heaven's Charm_. It collided with ExoGrimmon's _Chrono Destruction_ , all but blowing up in her face, and she went spinning through the air. ExoGrimmon emerged from the smoke lingering from the blast and breathed flames from his _Prominence_ attack.

Angewomon cried out as the stream of fire hit her from behind, pushing her through the air and slamming her against the wall. Smoking, she dropped down and hit the ground… outside of the ring.

Right on cue, Piedmon tossed out a handkerchief. A few of the DigiDestined fired attacks at the cloth, but more fire from ExoGrimmon knocked them aside. The cloth fell over Angewomon, and Piedmon ended up with another addition to his collection.

"Change her back!" MetalGreymon demanded.

Piedmon chuckled. "Sorry, but rules are rules." He held up all three key chains. "I think this is going well. Soon I'll have the whole set."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" MagnaAngemon declared. "It's my turn now."

Paildramon held up his hand. "Wait, let me go."

Shoutmon gave him a look. "What? Why you? MagnaAngemon is the strongest of us."

"But ExoGrimmon is still stronger. We tried fighting power with power, and that didn't work. So now lets try fighting power with speed."

"That's…" WarGrowlmon began, "actually a pretty good idea."

"No amount of speed can turn the tides in our favor as long as he's a Mega and we're Ultimates," Shoutmon replied, "but perhaps it'll enable us to knock him out of the ring. That's our only hope of winning, 'cause we'll never be able to destroy him."

ExoGrimmon was tapping his foot impatiently. "I don't care who it is, but if one of you doesn't get in here, I'll consider it a forfeit."

"As will I," Piedmon stated, waving his handkerchief.

Almost reluctantly, Paildramon flew into the ring. ExoGrimmon cracked his head left and right, looking a little too eager to begin. "Are you ready?"

The dragon Digimon hesitated. "Please, ExoGrimmon, don't do this. It's not too late. We can go back to the way things were before."

Shoutmon sweat-dropped. "Is he seriously trying this?"

"Just think of how well we got along," Paildramon continued. "We were friends. Even if it was all just an act, we can make it real. Think about it. Is this really what you want? Throwing your lot in with that guy," he motioned to Piedmon up in the box seats, who was nonchalantly whistling as he twirled around Takuya's key chain, "over real friends who actually care about you? All that you've done can be forgiven. Make amends. Help us save our friends. You can join us, for real this time."

ExoGrimmon stared at him for several long moments before closing his eyes. "Paildramon… Davis…" he opened his eyes again, "I've always hated you the most. You were the most annoying out of all your pathetic friends, and the one I've been the most eager to kill. I'm really going to enjoy this."

Paildramon sighed in resignation. "I had to try. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't at least try. But now I know. _Electric Bolt!"_

ExoGrimmon's head snapped to the side, and Paildramon quickly followed up with his _Sting Strike_. His attack never made contact as ExoGrimmon's hand reached up and grabbed him around the waist.

" _Desperado Blaster!"_ His guns fired directly into the reaper Digimon's palm. At this close range, the attack left a painful stinging sensation, and ExoGrimmon threw Paildramon away from him. He followed up with his _Air God_ attack, and Paildramon maneuvered about as he avoided the raining lightning, flying closer towards the reaper Digimon. _"Cable Catcher!"_

ExoGrimmon's tail axe came up, and Paildramon's claws bounced harmlessly off them. _"Chrono Destruction!"_

Paildramon dropped down, flattening himself to the arena floor as the attack passed by above him. He couldn't stay down long though, and quickly took to the air as the arena was torn into four more pieces. Unfortunately, he ended up flying straight into ExoGrimmon's fist, and ended up cracking the ground.

ExoGrimmon moved to stand over him, flames escaping his jaws. "I've been wanting to do this since we first met. Now, goodbye. _Prominence!"_

Paildramon's name was shouted as the dragon Digimon was engulfed in flames. The fire flowed in a continuous stream, completely engulfing him as Paildramon cried out.

Amidst the burning fire, Paildramon looked up at the reaper Digimon. "EXOGRIMMON, YOU'RE A FOOL! YOU THREW AWAY FRIENDSHIP! AND FOR WHAT?! FOR THIS!?"

ExoGrimmon's eyes narrowed. "I'm just amazed that you can still speak rationally right now. Just die already!"

Still burning, Paildramon forced his way out of the stream of fire, flying into the air. "I WILL STOP YOU!" The flames exploded outwards, causing ExoGrimmon to recoil. Paildramon's armor blazed bright orange, but he seemed completely dissociated from the heat. The burning embers soon gave way to a much brighter glow, a golden glow, one that completely consumed the dragon Digimon. _"Paildramon_ _ **Mega**_ _Digivolve to… Imperialdramon!"_

The arena shook as the massive form of the Mega level Digimon came crashing down onto it. Resembling a robotic cross between a dragon and a bear, the armor clad Digimon looked every bit as intimidating as his opponent. ExoGrimmon took a step back at the sight of him. "No, that's not possible."

The amusement vanished from Piedmon's face as he dropped the key chains and leaned over the railing. "Mega? He Digivolved to Mega? How? From what power boost? He didn't absorb any data?"

ExoGrimmon's shock soon gave way to fury as he rounded on Shoutmon and the rest of the DigiDestined. "What is this? How could he just Digivolve to Mega like that? You never mentioned anything like this!"

Shoutmon had seemed just as dumbfounded as the two villains, but upon realizing that he was being questioned, he quickly pulled himself together. Placing his hands on his hips, he puffed out his chest and gave a very forced laugh. "Ha, ha, ha! Of course we did! We explained how their power comes from within. It's the human spirit that gives them their strength. You just didn't understand what we meant." He waved. "Way to go, Imperialdramon!"

The others were still staring in utter disbelief at the dragon Digimon, the first of them to reach the Mega level. But as impressive as he was, was he strong enough to defeat ExoGrimmon?

"Shoutmon?" MetalGreymon asked. "Now that we have Imperialdramon on our side, what are our chances of winning?"

The dragon Digimon beamed at him. "Very good, actually. And not just because we now have a Mega. Imperialdramon is very powerful." He returned his attention to the arena. "I'd say the two of them are about evenly matched."

"Don't bet on it, you royal reject," ExoGrimmon grumbled, glaring at Imperialdramon. "Even if you did reach Mega, it still takes time to get acclimated to your new form before you can reach your potential and tap into your true power."

Imperialdramon returned the glare. "Get off your pedestal. You only just Digivolved too."

A growl escaped the reaper Digimon. "That may be true, but unlike you, I'm a _real_ Digimon. _Prominence!"_

He breathed fire. Imperialdramon leapt into the air, moving astonishingly fast for such a large Digimon. As the flames passed by beneath him, he flew at ExoGrimmon, tackling the reaper Digimon to the ground. ExoGrimmon struggled beneath him, holding back Imperialdramon's snapping jaws and lethal claws. His tail came up, the axe burning into the dragon Digimon's side, and Imperialdramon roared.

ExoGrimmon kicked Imperialdramon off him, and the dragon Digimon would have gone out of the arena if it weren't for his ability to fly. _"Mega Crusher!"_

ExoGrimmon climbed to his feet and jumped out of the way as the sphere of dark matter struck where he had been, exploding outward for a few hundred meters, destroying everything inside. The reaper Digimon surveyed the destruction before him, growling at his opponent. 'You've destroyed most of the arena."

Imperialdramon growled back. "I don't care about the arena. I'm taking you down."

The reaper Digimon stared at him before chuckling. "Fool. You can't beat me. _Death God!"_

The summoned god appeared, but did not attack Imperialdramon. Rather, it attacked the wall at the reaper Digimon's command, creating a hole to the outside. Moonlight spilled into the room, and ExoGrimmon sneered as he stepped into it. "In the light of the moon, I have the ability to heal myself. _Moon Tears!"_

Within the glow of the moon, light particles flowed into the reaper Digimon. The wounds on his body instantly healed, and he chuckled as he turned back to Imperialdramon. "And the best part about this is, unlike your healing abilities, this doesn't require the use of my own energy, just the light of the moon. So you see, no matter how powerful you are, I can just heal any damage you deliver."

But Imperialdramon didn't seem the least bit intimidated by this. "Big deal. I don't care what abilities you have. I said I'm taking you down, and I meant it."

He charged at ExoGrimmon like an angry bear. The reaper Digimon rushed forward to meet him, the tower shaking from the impact of their feet. Imperialdramon rose up and mauled ExoGrimmon. The reaper Digimon held his ground as Imperialdramon came down on him, the two biting and scratching at the other. ExoGrimmon attempted to breathe fire at his opponent, but Imperialdramon pushed his head to the side, and the flames flew past his face.

" _Shining Blade!"_ Imperialdramon cried. Still holding ExoGrimmon's fire breathing head away, he used his other claw to stab and slash into the reaper Digimon's side again and again. ExoGrimmon roared and struggled to get away, but unable to with Imperialdramon's weight pushing down on him. His axe tail flew threw the air, slamming into the area between Imperialdramon's neck and shoulder. The dragon Digimon roared and chomped down on ExoGrimmon's shoulder.

Snarling, ExoGrimmon used Imperialdramon's weight against him, bending down so he could lift the dragon Digimon into the air and throw him to the other end of the arena. _"Prominence!"_

" _Eternal Zeal!"_

Both breathed fire, Imperialdramon's in a swirling vortex. The two blazes met, erupting into a wall of fire that the DigiDestined could feel the heat from where they were as the two combatants slowly closed the distance between them, neither letting up.

When he was within range, Imperialdramon swiped with his _Shining Blade,_ but ExoGrimmon took to the air. Imperialdramon took aim and began firing his _Positron Laser_ , shooting a beam of energy from the cannon on his back. ExoGrimmon swirled around the attack and came crashing down on top of Imperialdramon, flattening the dragon Digimon to the arena floor.

Imperialdramon attempted to get free, but ExoGrimmon kept him pinned down. With a blast of strength, he took to the air, bringing ExoGrimmon with him. He began doing flips and turns in the air until he finally got the reaper Digimon off his back. Both flying now, they began attacking in the air, crashing into and slashing at each other, occasionally breathing a stream of fire.

"It looks like they're evenly matched," MetalGreymon noted.

Shoutmon glanced at him. "You think so?" he turned back to the battle. "Look again. ExoGrimmon is wearing out, but Imperialdramon is still coming on strong. ExoGrimmon was right about it taking time to get used to your new form and power."

WarGrowlmon cocked his head to the side curiously. "Then how come Imperialdramon isn't struggling the way ExoGrimmon is?"

It was MagnaAngemon who answered. "Because ExoGrimmon is fighting out of pure spite and a desire to destroy, but Imperialdramon is fighting for a purpose, for something he believes in. He's fighting to save his friends."

Imperialdramon managed to get on top of ExoGrimmon, bringing him back down and crashing him into the arena floor. ExoGrimmon threw the dragon Digimon off him and jumped to his feet. _"Chrono Destruction!"_

Imperialdramon whirled around. _"Mega Crusher!"_

The attacks collided and exploded, consuming the entire arena. Both combatants flew back from the blast as the ground was leveled, the arena vanishing entirely. They hovered in the air above where the ring once was, the dragon Digimon looking at his opponent inquisitively. "Now what? There's no ring."

ExoGrimmon considered this for a moment before landing. "No ring, no out of bounds. That leads to only one way to eliminate your opponent."

"I can work with that. _Positron Laser!"_

He fired a beam of energy, not at ExoGrimmon, but at the ground in front of him. ExoGrimmon took a step back as a cloud of smoke rose up in front of him. A moment later, Imperialdramon burst through the cloud and tackled him to the ground. Face to face, Imperialdramon unleashed his _Eternal Zeal_ , the flames flowing over ExoGrimmon's head. "Not much fun when it's being done to you, is it?"

The reaper Digimon continued roaring, and managed to use his _Air God_ attack. But Imperialdramon was prepared as the sky ripped open, and grabbed hold of ExoGrimmon. As the lightning rained down, he rolled them over, and the reaper Digimon's own attack came down on him instead.

"That's the problem with having others attack for you," Imperialdramon told him before kicking the reaper Digimon off him, "it's too unreliable."

Groaning, ExoGrimmon struggled to his feet. "You think you can do this to me? You, a lousy human? You have no idea who I am."

Imperialdramon's eyes narrowed. "I don't care."

With a snarl, ExoGrimmon began making his way over to the moonlight flowing into the room. He reached for it, preparing to heal. Only to have the light vanish before he could touch it. He looked up at the hole he had created, and found MagnaAngemon and WarGrowlmon hovering in front of it, blocking the moonlight.

" _Positron Laser!"_ Imperialdramon cried.

ExoGrimmon turned, but not in time, and Imperialdramon's attack blasted him across the room and slammed him into the wall. He went down, and stayed down, but not yet out. His eyes cracked open, and he saw the dragon Digimon approaching. He looked up at Piedmon questioningly, but the clown Digimon just shrugged.

"Were you expecting him to help you?" Imperialdramon asked. "It hurts, doesn't it, when someone you trust turns their back on you."

ExoGrimmon scowled. "You whine too much. If you're so upset about losing me as your friend, I wonder how you'll feel when you lose them all. _Air God!"_

Imperialdramon braced himself, but the sky did not tear open above him. Instead, the rip appeared above his friends, and lightning began raining down towards them. They fled the lightning, yet it came down in abundance, ExoGrimmon laughing all the while. "Kill them all!"

"No!" Imperialdramon shouted. He charged at the reaper Digimon, flattening him against the wall, his cannon pointing directly at him.

ExoGrimmon's eyes widened. "What are you doing? If you fire that thing at this close range, we'll both go down."

Imperialdramon just glared. "Now you know what real friends will do for each other. And you willingly threw that away. _Mega Crusher!"_

 **(A/N: Boom baby! Imperialdramon has finally arrived. Congrats to Davis for being the first to reach Mega. But what's this? Have we already lost him? And what about ExoGrimmon? Did he survive? Will Piedmon be stepping in next? Things are really going to start heating up now.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **Imperialdramon's attacks:**

 **Mega Crusher** – _F_ _ires super-massive dark matter that swallowing everything within a few hundred meters in a dark space, completely annihilating it._

 **Positron Laser** – _Fires a beam of positronic energy from his cannon._

 **Shining Blade** – _Slashes with his glowing claws._

 **Eternal Zeal** – _Releases a maelstrom of fire._

 **Mega Fire** – _Fires dark matter from his mouth._

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear or are mentioned. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Imperialdramon_Dragon_Mode**


	71. Chapter 71: Mastermind

**(A/N: Last chapter ended on a major cliffhanger with Imperialdramon firing his most powerful attack at ExoGrimmon at point blank range. Neither one is going to get out of that unscathed. Was it enough to end the battle? And what of Imperialdramon? If the battle ended it a tie, what happens with the tournament? Lets find out.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 71: Mastermind**

The attack was just as devastating as before, consuming a good portion of the floor and wall, including both Imperialdramon and ExoGrimmon. Up above, the lightning stopped coming down, and the rip in the air leading to the air god's realm closed.

In the box seats, Piedmon leaned closer, trying to see into the cloud of smoke left behind by Imperialdramon's attack. With the threat of lightning raining down on them gone, the DigiDestined looked to where the two combating Digimon had been. The destruction caused by Imperialdramon's _Mega Crusher_ was almost certain to have been wiped out both of them.

Something moved in the smoke, something big. Whoever it was, they were gravely wounded, that much was evident by the silhouette alone. But they were alive, and they were heading for the DigiDestined.

"It's Imperialdramon!" MagnaAngemon exclaimed.

"He's ok!" cried WarGrowlmon.

It was indeed the dragon Digimon, but he was far from ok. The damage done by getting caught up in his own attack was extensive. He had known it would be, if he even survived; his _Mega Crusher_ was not meant to be used at such close range.

There was no sign of ExoGrimmon.

Struggling to hold up his head, Imperialdramon looked to his friends. Seeing that they were ok, what served as a smile crept up his face. "You're… ok… I'm glad…"

His legs gave out, and he collapsed. A moment later, he reverted to his human form, no worse for wear, but seemingly unconscious. His friends cried out his name and rushed towards him. Moments before they reached him, a familiar cloth fell over his body.

"No!" MetalGreymon shouted as the cloth returned to Piedmon, and he presented them with his brand new keychain. "You can't do that!"

"Oh, but I can," the clown Digimon replied. "He obviously cannot battle any longer. That means he lost." He tossed the Davis keychain in the air and caught it. "Just a few more to go, and I'll have the complete set."

WarGrowlmon pointed at him. "That's not fair! We won your stupid game, now give us back our friends!"

Smirking, Piedmon set Davis' keychain down beside the others and leapt off the balcony. He landed a short distance from the DigiDestined and crossed his arms. "Oh, I'm sorry. Were you under the impression that ExoGrimmon was your only opponent? Oh, no, no, no, no. You still have me to contend with if you want your friends back." He cocked his head to the side. "I wonder how you'll fair without your Mega friend."

MagnaAngemon stepped forward. "I'm about to find out."

MetalGreymon moved in front of him. "No, I am."

The angel Digimon looked at him. "But-"

"It's only fitting that the two leaders face each other. Besides," he glared at the clown Digimon, "he has my sister."

Piedmon just grinned. "Don't worry, once I add you to my collection, I'll place the two of you next to each other on my shelf."

"Or I'll destroy you and have her change back. _Giga Blaster!"_

" _Clown Trick!"_ Piedmon pulled a giant tennis rocket from out of nowhere and used it to whack the missiles away, laughing all the while. One of them flew at MetalGreymon, exploding into his chest and sending him crashing into the wall.

Roaring, MetalGreymon jumped to his feet and charged at Piedmon. He used his _Metal Slash_ attack, but Piedmon grabbed his claw. "You can't hurt me with attacks like this."

Showing surprising strength for his size, he swung the much larger Digimon around and threw him across the room. MetalGreymon dug his metal claw into the ground, sending sparks flying as he skidded to a halt. _"Powerful Flame!"_

" _Clown Trick!"_ Piedmon whipped out a hoop. The flames seemed to be drawn toward it, covering the ring in fire. "Jump through this if you can."

He tossed the hoop at MetalGreymon. As it soared over the cyborg dinosaur Digimon's head, it expanded before coming down over him. MetalGreymon predicted what would happen next, and was proven right as the ring of fire shrank. He slashed at it with his metal claw, and the ring fell apart.

" _Mask Square!"_ Piedmon cried, and the teleportation squares appeared across the floor. Piedmon stepped on one and vanished, reappearing on the square beneath MetalGreymon. He jumped up and delivered an uppercut to the cyborg dinosaur Digimon's lower jaw, then followed up with his _Toy Wonderness_ attack, the gust of wind blowing him off his feet.

MagnaAngemon glanced up at the box seats where his friends' keychains were. He looked back at Piedmon, who was distracted with his fight with MetalGreymon. If he could recover his friends, then they wouldn't need to follow these one-on-one rules anymore, and they could all attack Piedmon together.

"I'm going for the others," he whispered to Shoutmon and WarGrowlmon.

With one last glance at Piedmon, he took off for the box seats. The keychains were resting on the railing, almost mockingly, just waiting to be grabbed. He got close, but Piedmon's sword suddenly flew past him, cutting him off. He looked back at the clown Digimon, who was watching him with a smirk on his face.

Stepping onto another square, he teleported up to the box seats. "Did you really think I'd just let you steal my collection? Naughty, naughty." He leaned in closer. "I can teleport up here a lot faster than you can fly up here. Don't try it again, or I'll destroy them. Now, sit back down before I add you to my collection sooner than necessary."

With no choice in the matter, the angel Digimon settled back down next to his friends. Still smiling, Piedmon teleported back down to where MetalGreymon was. The cyborg dinosaur Digimon was on his feet again and attacked with his _Metal Slash Revision._

Piedmon teleported to another square. MetalGreymon turned to him and attacked again, only to have the clown Digimon vanish once again. The process repeated several times before Piedmon began rapidly and randomly teleporting from square to square, not even waiting for MetalGreymon to attack, laughing all the while, moving faster than his opponent could blink.

MetalGreymon followed his appearances, trying to pick up a pattern. He soon realized that there wasn't one, and began lashing out at random, hoping he would get lucky. He did one time, for all the good it did, as Piedmon once again caught his metal claw, grasping the blades. "Tell me, does this hurt?"

He began pushing the two blades he held apart. MetalGreymon grunted in pain as he felt something akin to his fingers being bent in the wrong direction. _"Mega Claw!"_

His metal claw fired, taking Piedmon with it, and crashing into the wall. Without even bothering to retract it, he fired his _Giga Blaster_ , blowing a larger hole in the wall. He pulled his claw back into place and stared into the cloud of smoke, trying to make out the clown Digimon. He knew he hadn't beaten him, but he had landed a direct hit with his strongest attack; surely that must have caused some damage.

As the smoke dissipated, Piedmon was revealed to be unharmed. Still smiling, he dusted himself off with his handkerchief. "That was a good try. You managed to impress me. As your reward, you can join my collection without having to feel any more pain. _Clown Trick!"_

He tossed out his handkerchief at MetalGreymon, where it grew large enough to cover the cyborg dinosaur Digimon. MetalGreymon took a step back and used his _Over Flame_ , both shredding and burning the cloth. "I'm not interested in joining your collection."

Piedmon shrugged. "No matter, I can always make another one. But if you wish to feel pain first, I can arrange that. _Trump Sword!"_

His swords went flying. MetalGreymon swiped at them, and they scattered. It was just like back in the cave when Angewomon faced him. The four swords flew through the air, slashing and cutting the cyborg dinosaur Digimon as he unsuccessfully tried to ward them off.

It wasn't long before numerous wounds covered the cyborg dinosaur Digimon's body, and he fell to one knee, using his metal claw to help hold himself up. The swords returned to Piedmon's sheaths, and he crossed his arms, looking very satisfied with himself. "This is your fault. Your failure was a sure thing from the beginning. I offered you a painless acceptance of your fate, but you chose to suffer instead."

Coughing, MetalGreymon forced himself to stand up. "I can't… afford to lose…"

The clown Digimon seemed to be delighted in the cyborg dinosaur Digimon's pain. "Foolish boy, an Ultimate can't possibly beat a Mega."

MetalGreymon glared at him. "In that case, I'll just have to Digivolve to Mega as well."

Piedmon stared at him for several long moments, looking stunned. Then he started to chuckle before bursting into full-blown laughter. "You truly are an imbecile. You can't simply Digivolve just like that. That's not the way it works."

"Davis did it."

Piedmon scowled at him, now looking annoyed. _"Ending Snipe!"_ He fired electricity at the cyborg dinosaur Digimon. MetalGreymon roared as his body lit up, his cries echoing throughout the room. "You delusional child! Your friend was just fortunate enough to be at the point of being able to unlock his Mega form! It was a fluke! You know nothing of Digimon! And you dare to call yourself MetalGreymon!"

Amidst the electricity, MetalGreymon cracked an eye open. "And you know nothing of humans." Despite the electric charge coursing through his body, he managed to rise to his full height. "My sister and friends need me, and I'll do whatever it takes to help them. All these rules and boundaries you have, I won't let them stop me. I might not know everything there is to know about Digimon, but you know nothing about the human heart!"

He roared loudly, breaking free of Piedmon's electric attack. The clown Digimon leapt away as he swiped at him. MetalGreymon didn't pursue as he continued to roar his fury to the heavens. _"MetalGreymon_ _ **Mega**_ _Digivolve to… WarGreymon!"_

For the first time, MagnaAngemon and WarGrowlmon witnessed a reduction in size when it came to Digivolution. MetalGreymon had gone from being over ten times their human size to only about three times. Despite that, there was no doubt as to who was superior. A great deal of power condensed into a smaller form, as Shoutmon had said. And WarGreymon certainly looked powerful.

Completely covered in armor, he looked every bit ready for war, and capable of achieving victory on his own. The claw-like blades on his gauntlets looked very deadly, and the partially formed metal wings MetalGreymon had possessed now seemed to be complete, providing the new dragon Digimon with the ability to fly in addition to acting like a shield for his back.

Piedmon was staring again, but he didn't look amused or angry now, just genuinely stunned. "I don't understand. This can't be a coincidence." His shock quickly gave way to rage once again. "What is this ability you humans posses that allows you to tap into your Digimon forms' greatest power?"

WarGreymon just glared at him. "Someone like you could never understand. You only fight for your own petty greed. You lack any and all compassion. Without that, you can't even begin to comprehend the human heart. Now, feel my power. _Terra Force!"_

He gathered a massive amount of energy, forming it into a ball above him several times his size. He threw it at the clown Digimon, and Piedmon leapt away, the attack leaving a large crater behind. WarGreymon flew towards him, slashing with his claws. Piedmon blocked and avoided the lethal blades until WarGreymon did a flip in the air, bringing his foot down on Piedmon, sending him crashing to the ground.

" _Great Tornado!"_ Spinning around with his arms stretched out above him, WarGreymon formed himself into a mini-tornado and launched himself at Piedmon. The clown Digimon was already on his feet, and easily leapt out of the way as WarGreymon practically drilled into the ground.

On the sidelines, three mouths hung open as the DigiDestined watched their friend do battle with the clown Digimon. "Two Megas," said WarGrowlmon "We now have two Megas on our team. That's a good thing, right?"

Shoutmon gave him a look of disbelief. "Good? It's _great!_ Incredible even! You humans are truly amazing." He looked back at the two combatants. "Only…"

"What?"

"WarGreymon is very strong, but, unfortunately, Piedmon is the superior Mega. The odds are still in his favor."

"Don't worry," MagnaAngemon assured him. "I'm certain that WarGreymon will win. I know he will."

Shoutmon did his best to look confident. "I hope you're right."

WarGreymon and Piedmon stood a distance apart from each other, staring their opponent down. The dragon Digimon held a fighting stance while Piedmon appeared more relaxed as he studied his opponent. Slowly, a grin crept up his face and he burst into a fit of laughter. WarGreymon hesitated, not liking the look of this. "What's so funny?"

The laughter slowly died down, and Piedmon looked back at him with a sadistic gleam in his eyes as they shined with excitement. "This just suddenly became a lot more interesting. It's been a while since I had a real fight. I do hope you can keep me sufficiently entertained."

WarGreymon pointed at him, the claws on his gauntlet reflecting the moonlight. "I'm not your entertainment, and this is not a game. I'm taking you down."

Piedmon chuckled. "Don't make the mistake of thinking that just because you're a Mega that you're my equal. And unlike the battle with ExoGrimmon and Imperialdramon, I'm not new to my Mega form." He unsheathed two of his swords. "You are."

He charged forward, swinging his swords while WarGreymon swiped with his gauntlets. The power of their weapons meeting ripped the air apart as the two moved in a blur of movement, swiping and slashing at each other, sending sparks flying with each impact. The onlookers winced with every _clang_ of metal as the two combatants fought it out.

Piedmon stepped onto a square and teleported behind WarGreymon. The dragon Digimon whirled around, just barely managing to block the sword. _"War Driver!"_

His gauntlets glowed as energy built up in them, and he swiped at Piedmon. The clown Digimon flew up into the air and used his _Trump Sword_ , throwing all four of his swords. WarGreymon blocked with his _Brave Shield_ , the wing-plates on his back appearing in front of him to defend against the attack.

" _Ultra Tornado!"_ WarGreymon cried, spinning around. This time, however, he didn't simply spin himself into a tornado, but created a fiery twister stretching from the ceiling to the floor. The spinning vortex began shooting out smaller tornadoes at the clown Digimon, who jumped and teleported out of their paths before finally countering with his _Toy Wonderness_ , blowing the smaller tornadoes away.

WarGreymon stopped spinning and threw his _Terra Force_. Piedmon fired his _Ending Snipe_ , but WarGreymon's attack overpowered the electric attack, and Piedmon was blasted backwards.

" _Dramon Cutter!"_ WarGreymon cried, rushing at the clown Digimon. He sliced at him as he passed by, then doubled back and slashed him again. This was repeated several times before Piedmon managed to use his _Clown Trick._ When WarGreymon cut him again, the image of the clown Digimon was revealed to be nothing more than a cardboard cutout.

" _Ending Snipe!"_

WarGreymon didn't even bother to turn around; he knew Piedmon was behind him. Instead, he jumped straight up, avoiding the attack, before whirling around in the air. _"Grey Fire!"_

Piedmon danced away as the dragon Digimon threw fireballs at him. _"Trump Sword!"_

WarGreymon knocked the swords away. _"Aerial Dramon Killer!"_

Soaring downward like a missile, arms extended, he attempted to stab the clown Digimon. Piedmon teleported to a farther away square and used _Clown Trick,_ throwing a pie at WarGreymon. It grew as it flew towards the dragon Digimon, colliding with him and splattered against the wall.

Piedmon laughed, wiping off a bit of the cream that had gotten on him and licking it. "Piedmon pies. They're the best around."

The pie-tin burst open and WarGreymon came rushing out, covered in cream. Using his _Dramon Cutter_ attack, he sped towards the clown Digimon, preparing to slash him. When he was right in front of him, Piedmon's hand shot out, grabbing WarGreymon's wrist. "I've had enough of your claws, thank you very much."

He kicked outward, sending the dragon Digimon flying. With a smirk, he flew after him, unsheathing two of his swords. WarGreymon managed to recover and kicked off the wall before he crashed into it, launching himself back at Piedmon. The clown Digimon's eyes widened in surprise as WarGreymon came at him, and he raised his swords in an X shape.

WarGreymon swiped at him. Both of Piedmon's swords shattered as WarGreymon's gauntlet broke off his arm. Losing his gauntlet hurt, like getting his fingernail ripped off, but he didn't let that stop him as he delivered a punch to the clown Digimon's face, sending him tumbling back. _"Terra Force!"_

Piedmon was on the ground as the giant ball of energy made impact with a resounding _boom_. WarGreymon landed a short distance away. He looked around, spotting his broken gauntlet on the ground. Picking it up, he reattached it to his arm as best as he could, then turned back to the cloud of smoke. It was beginning to dissipate, and when it cleared, Piedmon was found to be lying on the ground.

He didn't stay down long though, and was soon rising to his feet, smiling. He was _smiling_ , and the look he gave WarGreymon was one of excitement. "Yes, that's it. It's been forever since I've faced a worthy opponent. I want more. Give me more!"

He flew at WarGreymon, positively ecstatic. WarGreymon braced himself, ready for whatever was coming, but not for what happened next.

"Piedmon!"

The voice that echoed throughout the room brought the clown Digimon to a halt. As the DigiDestined looked around for the source of the voice, Piedmon looked up. The others eventually realized where he was looking and spotted a small crystal floating down from the box seats. It settled in front of Piedmon and projected a giant square hologram in the air.

Like a floating TV screen, the transparent image hovered above the clown Digimon. On the screen was another Digimon, but neither Piedmon nor the DigiDestined could make out who it was. Hidden in the shadows, only the dark silhouette could be seen, yet Piedmon seemed to know exactly who they were.

"Why have you not reported in?" the unknown Digimon demanded. "Surely a group of humans could not take this long to deal with."

Piedmon lowered his head, crossing an arm across his chest. "My apologies, sir. There were some…complications. I am dealing with them myself."

WarGrowlmon glanced at MagnaAngemon. "Did Piedmon just call him 'sir'?"

The Digimon on screen leaned forward, but not enough for his features to be made out. "What kind of complication? And why is ChaosGrimmon not dealing with them? Did I not grant him permission to use the data gathered from Santamon for that very purpose?"

Piedmon simply shrugged. "Yes, and he was able to use it to Digivolve to ExoGrimmon. Unfortunately, he was destroyed. Two of the humans have managed to unlock their Digimon forms' Mega levels." He smiled wickedly. "But not to worry, I am dealing with them myself."

A movement and a _thud_ on the projection screen suggested that the unknown Digimon had slammed his fist down on something. "You are wasting time, and I won't have it! We have the scrolls, but we still need to find the keycards! Stop fooling around and finish the job!"

The screen vanished as the crystal stopped glowing and floated back up to the box seats. Piedmon sighed and turned back to WarGreymon. "Well, it's been fun, but the boss says I need to wrap things up."

"The boss?" WarGreymon repeated.

"We thought you were the head honcho," said WarGrowlmon. "You said as much back at the cave."

Piedmon raised an eyebrow. "Did I say that? I believe all I claimed to be was in charge of the operation. That is, keeping Santamon prisoner. But even I have someone I answered to."

"And who is that?" Shoutmon demanded.

Piedmon just chuckled. "That is none of your concern."

MagnaAngemon considered this, including what he had heard the mysterious Digimon say. "Then they're the one who's really behind everything. You were the one in charge of keeping Santamon prisoner, ChaosGrimmon was in charge of obtaining the Kougamon and Ninjamon scrolls, and Darcmon was in charge of obtaining the keycards. You all had different jobs, but that guy is the one you all answer to."

Piedmon looked impressed and began clapping. "Bravo! Bravo! You've figured it out. For all the good it will do you. You may have freed Santamon, but he was just a means of gathering data, he wasn't completely necessary for the real plan."

"And what plan is that?" WarGreymon asked. "What are the connections between the scrolls and the keycards?"

The clown Digimon roared with laughter. "You really don't know anything, do you? The keycards open a door to a great power, and the scrolls explain how to use them to open the door. We captured Santamon in order to harvest enough data to control the great power, but, oh well; I guess we'll have to make due with what we've got. We already have the scrolls, all that's left is to obtain the keycards."

"That won't happen," MagnaAngemon declared. "We'll stop you, and whoever your master is."

More laughter. Piedmon truly believed they were out of their league. "I admire your fighting spirit, but your adventure ends here."

WarGreymon took a step forward. "This battle isn't over yet. As far as I'm concerned, we still have a fighting chance."

Piedmon flashed him a knowing smile. "Then I better stop sandbagging. After all, I have my orders. It's time for you to witness my true power. Now you will see the futility of your struggles. _Piedmon Digivolve to… ChaosPiedmon!"_

To say WarGreymon was shocked would be an understatement. Piedmon was already a Mega, and a powerful one at that, but now he had just Digivolved to an even more powerful one. WarGreymon had known that Piedmon had been holding back, but he hadn't expected this.

Twice the size of his previous for, ChaosPiedmon was practically his polar opposite. Nearly all his colors had been swapped with black, white, and various shades of gray, his ribbons turning red and his hair turning yellow. There were no other notable changes, but one thing was for sure, his level of power had undoubtedly gone up.

"Now then," said ChaosPiedmon, taking a step forward, "how confident are you feeling now?"

 **(A/N: Oh snap! What a chapter! A whole lot happened. Davis managed to destroy ExoGrimmon, but was turned into a keychain as well. MetalGreymon Digivolved to WarGreymon, but Piedmon Digivolved as well to an even stronger Mega level. We learned some more about the keycards, and the scrolls, but most troubling of all, we learned that someone else has been pulling the strings the whole time. Who is this unknown Digimon that's been behind everything? And do our heroes even have a chance against them if they can't even defeat ChaosPiedmon. There's a lot more to come, so stay tuned.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **WarGreymon's attacks:**

 **Terra Force** – _Takes all of the energy within the atmosphere and concentrates it into one giant molten fireball, and fires it as an extremely dense, high-temperature energy shot._

 **Great Tornado** – _Spins at tremendous speed to cloak himself in a tornado and drills into his opponents._

 **Dramon Cutter** – _Slashes with his Dramon killing claws on his gauntlets._

 **Ultra Tornado** – _Wraps himself in a giant tornado of flames, sending out smaller tornadoes._

 **War Driver** – _Builds up energy in his claws and strikes._

 **Grey Fire** – _Throws small fireballs._

 **Dragon Killer** – _Sends out a fiery shockwave across the ground._

 **Dramon Tackle** – _Charges at his opponents._

 **Aerial Dramon Killer** – _Flies downward while stabbing with his claws._

 **Brave Shield** – _Uses his_ Brave Shield _to defend against attacks._

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear or are mentioned. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/WarGreymon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/ChaosPiedmon**


	72. Chapter 72: The Clown of Chaos

**(A/N: Last chapter, Piedmon made the shocking revelation that he could Digivolve all along and was simply playing with WarGreymon. Now that he's even stronger, what chance do our heroes have? Their only option is to break the rules, or else ChaosPiedmon is going to pick them off one by one. Lets see if they can get out of this seemingly hopeless situation.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 72: The Clown of Chaos**

WarGreymon unconsciously took a step back. "You could Digivolve? All this time?" No wonder the guy had been so arrogant; he'd had this ace up his sleeve. "Why didn't you just start out in this form from the beginning?"

ChaosPiedmon chuckled. "Where would the fun in that be? If you'd known you were doomed going in, then I wouldn't get the chance to see that look of hope in your eyes die out."

The dragon Digimon glared at him. "Who says I gave up hope? I haven't given up anything. _Great Tornado!"_

Spinning around, he flew at the mime Digimon like a deadly flying drill. ChaosPiedmon simply held up his hand, holding WarGreymon back, as he collided with his palm, but was unable to deliver any damage.

Thrusting his hand outward, he pushed WarGreymon back. "If you think you can still win this battle, then you're delusional."

"I'll show you delusional. _Dramon Tackle!"_ Charging forward, he slammed into ChaosPiedmon's gut and wrapped his arms around him. ChaosPiedmon grunted, but still smiled. Standing nearly twice the size of the dragon Digimon, he brought his elbow down on him, knocking him to the ground.

Licking his lips in anticipation, he reached down with his ribbons, lifting WarGreymon to his feet. The dragon Digimon lashed out with his _War Driver_ , but ChaosPiedmon grabbed his wrist and bent his arm back. He tried again with his other hand, but the mime Digimon grabbed this one as well, twisting it away. WarGreymon looked up into his smiling face before the ChaosPiedmon flashed his fangs and slammed his head into WarGreymon's face. He then kicked him in the chest, releasing his arms so the dragon Digimon could go flying backwards.

WarGreymon dug his claws into the ground to stopping his momentum, leaving deep grooves and creating a shower of sparks. "I won't ever quit."

He charged forward. ChaosPiedmon just smirked and raised his hand. _"Mask's Square!"_

"That can't hurt me!"

But he was wrong. A ball of black energy appeared in the mime Digimon's hand, and he threw it at WarGreymon, blasting him backwards.

On the sidelines, WarGrowlmon pointed at the mime Digimon. "Hey, I thought that that attack covered the field to teleport on."

Snickering, ChaosPiedmon glanced at him. "It's time you learned proper grammar. _Masks Square_ creates the teleporting field, _Mask's Square_ is an attack."

"That's… really deceptive."

"That's the point."

With a battle cry, WarGreymon flew up into the air and unleashed his _Ultra Tornado_. ChaosPiedmon returned his attention to the dragon Digimon, still smiling. _"Trump Sword Two!"_

From out of thin air, numerous swords appeared. They began flying about wildly, slicing through the smaller fiery tornadoes the much larger one unleashed, causing them to disperse. Several then flew into the giant flaming vortex, knocking WarGreymon out of his tornado. The blades flew all around, and WarGreymon dodged and batted them away. Several swords, after missing their mark, then began teleporting through the air, making it all the more difficult for the dragon Digimon to fend them off.

"Things aren't looking good," MagnaAngemon unnecessarily stated. "We never anticipated that Piedmon could Digivolve."

"That seems to be a running theme," WarGrowlmon commented. "We should prepare for that from now on."

The angel Digimon glanced at Shoutmon. "Is there any chance that WarGreymon can still-"

"No," Shoutmon interrupted, knowing what he was going to ask. "Piedmon was already stronger than him; he'll never be able to beat ChaosPiedmon on his own."

WarGrowlmon looked up to where the box seats were, where their friends still rested on the railing. "If only we could save our friends, then we could all fight him at once." His gaze landed on the teleporting squares that had remained even after Piedmon had Digivolved. "But as long as ChaosPiedmon can teleport, we'll never get to them before he does."

Beneath his helmet, MagnaAngemon's eyes widened. "Teleport, that's it! Shoutmon, come with me."

The dragon Digimon blinked. "Um, ok." He glanced one last time at the battle, where ChaosPiedmon was whipping WarGreymon repeatedly with his ribbons. He followed the angel Digimon behind WarGrowlmon's much larger body and gave him a questioning look. "What?"

MagnaAngemon didn't answer as he used his _Great Golden Gate_ to trace a circle. As the portal appeared, he glanced back at Shoutmon, motioning to it. "Go."

The dragon Digimon's eyes lit up in understanding. "Right, I gotcha."

He leapt through the portal and was bathed in light. He could see the exit, and when he emerged, he was in the box seats. Wasting no time, he snatched the keychains of Davis, Takuya, Angewomon, and Airdramon, then quickly leapt through the gate again.

"I got 'em!" he cried as he exited the portal.

MagnaAngemon nodded. "Well done. Set them down here." As Shoutmon set the four keychains on the ground, MagnaAngemon stood over them. _"Magna Antidote!"_

Rainbow light poured out of his wings and flowed over the keychains. They began glowing and started to grow, the small metal chains disappearing as the figurines returned to normal.

Davis blinked. "Whoa, we're back. That was weird."

"Yeah," Airdramon agreed, "I had this really big urge to hold some keys."

Shoutmon was frantically waving his arms. "Never mind that!" He pointed to the battle where ChaosPiedmon had managed to wrap his ribbons around his opponent and was now repeatedly slamming him against the floor and walls. "WarGreymon needs help!"

Angewomon, feeling much better from before she had turned into a keychain, looked to the battle. She noted the difference in Piedmon's appearance and quickly came to the appropriate conclusion. She quickly noted that neither ExoGrimmon nor MetalGreymon were present, but considering the reaper Digimon was nowhere in sight and Shoutmon had referred to ChaosPiedmon's opponent as WarGreymon, it didn't take long for her to figure out what had happened. "You'll have to give us the details later. _Celestial Arrow!"_

" _Atomic Blaster!"_

" _Heaven's Gate!"_

ChaosPiedmon was still laughing as he slammed WarGreymon on the ground one last time. Overhead, the numerous swords came together and fused into one enormous sword pointed directly at WarGreymon, ready to end the battle. That's when Angewomon's arrow struck him in the back. He cried out, the giant sword disappearing. A moment later, he was hit by the beams from WarGrowlmon and MagnaAngemon's attacks, knocking him over.

The ribbon binding WarGreymon loosened, and the dragon Digimon pulled free. As WarGrowlmon, Angewomon, and MagnaAngemon rushed to meet him, he leapt away from the fallen mime Digimon.

"Kari, you're back to normal," WarGreymon said in relief.

The angel Digimon nodded. "So are the others." She motioned to Davis, Takuya, and Airdramon. "Now there's nothing to stop us from taking down this guy together."

ChaosPiedmon was getting to his feet. "So it would seem." He smirked. "But tell me, do you really think the assistance of your friends will save you from me?"

"Strength in numbers," MagnaAngemon replied. "With all of us fighting together, I'm sure we can give you a run for your money."

The mime Digimon laughed. "You truly underestimate my power."

"I don't," Airdramon declared, taking to the air. "You humans are way out of your league, and you're not taking me down with you. I only came in here to get out of ChaosGrimmon's toxic rain, but I'm done with this now. Goodbye."

With that said, she flew out the opening in the wall, disappearing into the night. ChaosPiedmon let her go and sneered at MagnaAngemon. "Where is your faith now?"

Without the slightest bit of doubt, the angel Digimon motioned to his friends. "Right here. As long as my friends are with me, I'll never give up, and I know they won't either."

"How touching. _Mask's Square!"_

" _Terra Force!"_ The black and gold balls of energy exploded against each other, the shockwave flowing across the room.

"I guess that's our cue to start," said WarGrowlmon. _"Atomic Blaster!"_

ChaosPiedmon stepped onto a square and teleported directly beneath the cyborg dinosaur Digimon. He jumped up, slamming his fist into WarGrowlmon's jaw, sending the much larger Digimon flying across the room, before flipping in the air to avoid WarGreymon swiping at him with his _Dramon Cutter_ , and kicking him away.

He whirled around, whipping out a sword to block MagnaAngemon's blade. With his other hand, he blasted the angel Digimon away with his _Mask's Square_ , then cut through the arrow Angewomon had fired at him. He lashed out with a ribbon, binding her, and slammed her down hard on the ground. WarGrowlmon was coming at him again, using his _Aerial Dramon Killer_ , but ChaosPiedmon easily dodged the attack and threw his sword at him.

" _Great Tornado!"_ WarGreymon cried, and began spinning. He knocked the sword aside as he flew at the mime Digimon. ChaosPiedmon thrust his hand out, unleashing his _Mask's Square._ The black ball of energy met with WarGreymon's spinning attack and erupted in both Digimon's faces.

ChaosPiedmon hit the wall, taking Angewomon with him. WarGrowlmon ignited his thrusters and flew towards him. _"Hammer Edge!"_

The mime Digimon pushed off the wall as WarGrowlmon's blade buried into it. He maneuvered around the cyborg dinosaur Digimon's body and seized the cable coming from his back. Once again showing off his superior strength, he swung him around and threw him across the room.

 _Flying Sword of Justice!"_ MagnaAngemon cried, rushing towards ChaosPiedmon. He slashed with his sword, and the mime Digimon caught it. Smirking, he kicked him away, then lashed out with his other ribbon, binding him as well.

Winding both ribbons together, he caused MagnaAngemon and the still bound Angewomon to collide. "Aww, don't you make a lovely couple." He pulled out a sword. "Such a shame I need to cut the honeymoon short."

"Not on my match!" WarGreymon declared. _"Ultra Tornado!"_

As the fiery vortex appeared, ChaosPiedmon swung his wound ribbons at him. "Then by all means, take them."

WarGreymon was knocked out of his tornado as the two angel Digimon slammed into him, and he crashed into the wall. ChaosPiedmon threw his four swords at him, and they buried in the wall around his arms and legs, pinning him there.

" _Radiation Blade!"_ WarGrowlmon cried. He flew towards ChaosPiedmon's extended ribbons and sliced through them, freeing the two angel Digimon, then turned to the mime Digimon. _"Megalo Spark!"_

ChaosPiedmon grit his teeth as the electricity flowed over him. The two angel Digimon tore out of their bindings and Angewomon fired her _Heaven's Charm_ at him while MagnaAngemon unleashed his _Soul Vanisher._ Angewomon's attack blasted the mime Digimon back, and he turned the momentum into a series of backflips to avoid MagnaAngemon's energy blades.

Ceasing the backflips, he held out his hands. _'Trump Sword Two!"_

Countless swords appeared and flew at the angel Digimon. MagnaAngemon grabbed Angewomon and pulled her close, using his _Shield and Counter_ to repel the swords. He knew his barrier wouldn't last long, but he attempted to buy as much time as he could.

Help came in the form of WarGreymon. He charged at the mime Digimon, using his _War Driver_. ChaosPiedmon jumped back as the dragon Digimon's claw struck the ground, shattering the floor, and landed on a square, teleporting away. When he reappeared, he redirected the flying swords towards him, and they flew through the air, fusing together once more into one giant sword.

Unable to avoid it, WarGreymon caught the massive blade. It pushed him back until he hit the wall, threatening to literally cut him right down the middle if his grip slipped. Free from the threat of the flying swords, MagnaAngemon and Angewomon used their _Magna Jump_ and _Super Jump_ to launch themselves at ChaosPiedmon. The mime Digimon jumped up to avoid them and fired his _Mask's Square_ down at them, but MagnaAngemon had drawn a _Great Golden Gate_ circle for both him and Angewomon to fly into. They reappeared just above ChaosPiedmon, and Angewomon struck him with her _Holy Slap_ while MagnaAngemon drew another circle to fire his _Heaven's Gate_ attack.

WarGrowlmon, meanwhile, was on his feet again, and fired his _Atomic Blaster_ , at the giant sword WarGreymon was attempting to hold back. The blade shattered, and WarGreymon wasted no time in flying towards ChaosPiedmon while he was caught up in MagnaAngemon's attack. _"Terra Force!"_

He all but slammed the giant ball of energy down directly onto the mime Digimon. The attack flattened him against the ground and erupted, obscuring the mime Digimon from view.

"And that's the power of teamwork," WarGrowlmon declared.

The smoke began to clear and ChaosPiedmon was revealed to be standing once more. "How completely worthless. _Trump Sword Two!"_

The swords appeared overhead and began raining down. The DigiDestined cried out as the blades made various cuts as they passed by, disappearing when they hit the ground and reappearing above them again. Out of the reach of the raining swords, ChaosPiedmon took to the air, and threw four _Mask's Square_ attacks, three at the two angel and dragon Digimon, and another at WarGrowlmon. Each of them hit the wall with enough force to crack it, even with WarGreymon and MagnaAngemon using their _Brave Shield_ and _Shield and Counter_.

Takuya and Davis hurried over to them. "You guy's ok?" the former asked. "Those were some pretty hard hits."

WarGrowlmon groaned. "I've been better."

ChaosPiedmon laughed. "I told you it wouldn't do any good."

Davis glared at him. "Oh yeah? Well, if I could become Imperialdramon, we'd wipe the floor with you"

The mime Digimon shrugged. "Yes, perhaps you would stand a chance then, but, alas, it looks like you'll never get the opportunity."

Shoutmon quickly joined his friends, glancing at ChaosPiedmon. "Don't be so sure." He turned to the others. "Listen, instead of fighting him as you are, I think you should try to recharge Davis' Digivice."

The DigiDestined exchanged looks. "Will that be enough?" WarGrowlmon asked. "We're not at full strength. What if we can't recharge it enough and only succeed in giving up more energy?"

MagnaAngemon stood up as well. "I think I might have a way to get around that."

Up in the air, ChaosPiedmon crossed his arms. "What are you whispering about? Saying your goodbyes?"

WarGreymon stood up. "We're out of options. You guys get to work; I'll keep him busy."

He flew up to engage the mime Digimon in battle. Davis looked at his friends questioningly, and WarGrowlmon got up. "Alright, lets do it."

He and Angewomon stood before Davis, who held his Digivice out to them. They began pouring their energy into the device as MagnaAngemon moved behind them. _"Heaven's Heal!"_

His healing power flowed over the two Digimon as they continued to recharge Davis' Digivice. Up in the air, ChaosPiedmon toyed with WarGreymon as he attempted to keep the mime Digimon distracted. He knew of the no attacking during Digivolving rule, but didn't know if it applied to what his friends were doing.

One of ChaosPiedmon's ribbons, having regrown, shot out and wrapped around the dragon Digimon's throat. Smirking, he pulled him in close, giving him a mocking look as he spoke in a low voice. "Just between us, do you really believe you and your friends actually have a chance, or are you just trying to prevent them from losing hope?"

WarGreymon blared at him. "I believe… we can… win…"

"Then you are a fool."

If WarGreymon's mouth were visible, ChaosPiedmon would have seen it break out into a grin. "You wouldn't know it… looking at them…"

ChaosPiedmon's gaze shifted to the others. WarGrowlmon, Angewomon, and MagnaAngemon were on their knees, looking exhausted, but Davis was holding up his Digivice victoriously. "Get ready, 'cause I'm coming at you. _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Imperialdramon!"_

ChaosPiedmon's eyes widened. "But how?"

" _War Driver!"_

WarGreymon's attack cut him free of the ribbon while striking the mime Digimon, knocking him to the ground. Imperialdramon shifted and took aim with his cannon. _"Positron Laser!"_

" _Terra Force!"_

WarGreymon threw his massive ball of energy. It flew in the path of Imperialdramon's attack, and the beam pushed it towards the mime Digimon. ChaosPiedmon jumped to his feet and held out his hands, catching the combination attack. It pushed him back, his feet leaving skid marks as he tried to hold off the attack. Cracks began to appear beneath his feet, but, slowly, he stopped sliding backwards.

"What!?" WarGrowlmon exclaimed, unable to believe what he was seeing. "No way!"

"He's holding off the attack," MagnaAngemon noted, "but he can't deflect it completely. Imperialdramon, don't stop!"

The dragon Digimon grunted. "I don't plan to, but I don't know how long I can keep this up; I'm using a lot of energy to keep this attack going."

At the other side of the attack, ChaosPiedmon continued to hold back WarGreymon's _Terra Force_ as Imperialdramon's _Positron Laser_ pushed it towards him. "So, it's become a test of endurance, has it? That's fine with me. Lets see who will last longer."

Gritting his teeth, he took a step forward, and then another, pushing back the attacks as Imperialdramon growled and put out more energy, his beam's intensity increasing in intensity. ChaosPiedmon wobbled a bit at the attack's increase in strength, but then took another step forward.

"It's not enough," WarGreymon growled. "He's taking control."

He flew over, hovering just out of range of the attacks, and used _Grey Fire_. The fireballs began slamming against ChaosPiedmon. His face twisted with frustration as he began to slip up. With an angry glare at WarGreymon, he unleashed his _Trump Sword Two_ attack. Several swords appeared in the air behind him. They flew at the dragon Digimon, cutting through his armor, and WarGreymon cried out as he fell from the sky.

"WarGreymon, no!" Angewomon shouted.

"Come on," said WarGrowlmon. "We need to help!"

As they flew off, Shoutmon took a few steps in their direction. "Wait, don't! It's too dangerous!"

MagnaAngemon struggled to get to his feet. "Me too."

Shoutmon rounded on him. "I don't think so. You just replenished the energy they gave up with your own. You're staying right here."

Takuya reluctantly agreed. "He's right, man. Just stay here. There's no point in getting yourself killed."

WarGrowlmon and Angewomon took positions on either side of ChaosPiedmon. WarGrowlmon fired his _Atomic Blaster_ in a continuous stream as Angewomon began repeatedly firing her _Holy Arrow._ ChaosPiedmon winced as the attacks kept coming at him, but still managed to hold back the _Terra Force_ and _Positron Laser_. "You're beginning to get on my nerves. _Trump Sword Two!"_

More swords appeared, and the two Digimon were struck down, reverting to their human forms, their energy depleted. MagnaAngemon's jaw clenched and he began making his way towards the battle, but Shoutmon stopped him. "Didn't you hear me? You're in no position to fight."

"They'll die," the angel Digimon told him. "Whether ChaosPiedmon overpowers Imperialdramon or falls, they'll be killed in the blast. I have to get them."

Without waiting around to argue further, he flew over and gathered up the unconscious Kari and Takato. He brought them over to Shoutmon and Takuya, then, despite the dragon Digimon's protests, flew back over to ChaosPiedmon. "I can at least do this much. _Gate of Destiny!"_

His golden gate appeared and opened, and the suction began. ChaosPiedmon felt himself getting pulled backwards and glanced at the angel Digimon out of his peripheral vision. "A useless attempt."

One of his ribbons shot out and wrapped around MagnaAngemon's ankle. The angel Digimon was yanked off his feet and thrown across the room. He slammed into the wall and reverted back to his human form. Behind ChaosPiedmon, the _Gate of Destiny_ closed and vanished.

Keeping up the attack was beginning to take its toll on Imperialdramon. His legs began to give out, and he almost collapsed, but managed to catch himself. He couldn't waste this opportunity his friends had given him.

Despite the struggle he was facing, ChaosPiedmon grinned. "It looks like you're reaching your limit. I wonder how much longer you can hold out."

" _War Driver!"_

ChaosPiedmon cried out as WarGreymon's claws wracked down his back. He dropped to one knee and glared at the dragon Digimon who had dared to step into the attacks' path.

Taking one hand off the _Terra Force_ , he pressed it against WarGreymon. _"Mask's Square!"_

The dragon Digimon was blasted backwards. He hit the wall and fell to the floor. He remained there for several seconds before slowly climbing to his feet. He managed to take a few steps forward before finally collapsing. He returned to his human form before he even hit the floor.

"Stop hurting my friends!" Imperialdramon roared, and unleashed even more power.

ChaosPiedmon was pushed back several feet, but soon managed to hold back the two attacks. He slowly got up, struggling a great deal, and grinned at Imperialdramon. "You missed your opportunity. You could have had me there, but it looks like it's all over now."

Takuya and Shoutmon looked on in growing despair. Their friends were down for the count. Things were not looking good. "Now what?" Takuya wondered out loud. He looked at his Digivice in despair. "I've got no power to fight."

Shoutmon's fists clenched. He could give his own energy, but knew his Rookie level power wouldn't be enough to recharge Takuya's Digivice. He looked back at ChaosPiedmon, his eyes narrowing. "Change myself. Change myself."

Taking a deep breath, he charged forward, producing his mic. Upon reaching ChaosPiedmon, he jumped up and used his _Rock and Roller_ attack, bringing his mic down on the mime Digimon's head. ChaosPiedmon glared at him and kicked outward, kicking the dragon Digimon away. Shoutmon crashed headfirst into the wall and fell to the ground with a large lump on his head and dizzy swirls in his eyes.

Smirking, ChaosPiedmon looked at Imperialdramon on the other side of the beam. "You're out of friends to help you. I guess that means that this is the end." He began pushing forward, advancing on the dragon Digimon with each step, pushing the attacks back further. "It was fun, and you kids gave me a bigger challenge than I expected, but it's time to meet your doom."

" _Spinning Needle!"_

Needle-shaped vacuum blades suddenly stabbed ChaosPiedmon in the back. The mime Digimon looked over his shoulder and saw, much to his surprise, Airdramon flying in the air. "You!?"

' _Now,'_ Imperialdramon realized, _'while he's distracted!'_

He unleashed all the power he could in a single burst. The beam of his _Positron Laser_ visibly thickened as the excessive energy flowed down the length and slammed into the _Terra Force_ at the end of it. ChaosPiedmon's head snapped forward again just before he was blasted off his feet. He cried out as he was carried across the room and slammed into the wall where the two attacks finally erupted in a massive blast.

" _Mega Crusher!"_ Imperialdramon cried, unleashing all his remaining energy in a single attack. He fell to the ground in his human form as the mass of dark matter flew through the air and into the explosion, resulting in an even bigger blast as it struck ChaosPiedmon.

The mime Digimon cried out as his body began to break down into data. "This can't be! I'm a Chaos General!"

They were his last words as he vanished into a cloud of data.

 **(A/N: Boom! And ChaosPiedmon goes out with a bang. I'll bet you didn't expect Airdramon to come to their rescue. If you're a** _ **Dragon Ball Z**_ **fan, you may have noticed the similarities of this scene to the climax of the battle with Cell. Not gonna lie, I based a portion of this from that, but I think it turned out well. Our heroes have managed to defeat, possibly, their toughest opponent yet. But it's not over yet. Who is the one ChaosPiedmon is answering to? And what did he mean about being a Chaos General? More to come, so stay tuned.)**


	73. Chapter 73: The Face In The Shadows

**(A/N: Ok, the time has come to meet the mastermind behind all this. I had someone make a good guess based ChaosPiedmon's last words, which will come into play later. For now, lets put a face to the big boss.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 73: The Face In The Shadows**

It was over. ChaosPiedmon had been destroyed. But the victory had not been easy. The entire group had all but been defeated, only coming out on top at the last possible moment. With a little help.

Airdramon floated over to the group. Imperialdramon had reverted back to his human form, and was laying in a crumbled heap on the floor. "This is what I get for caring," she grumbled. Leaning down, she nudged Davis with her nose. "Hey, wake up."

"Ow," the boy grumbled. "Not so rough; I hurt all over."

"Be glad you can feel anything," Takuya told him as he came up beside Airdramon. "You ok?"

"No, I just said I hurt all over."

The dragon Digimon snorted. "You humans are so fragile. But," her expression softened, "you did well. I honestly didn't think you guys would pull it off." She shook her head and cleared her throat. "So, how are your friends?"

She floated over to each of them, rousing Kari and Takato awake before moving onto Shoutmon. The dragon Digimon proved the most difficult to awaken, refusing to open his eyes. "Leave me alone. I'm not ready to hatch yet."

TK chuckled. "You're not in your egg, Shoutmon. You didn't die."

The dragon Digimon cracked an eye open. "I didn't? We won?" He sat up. "Well, who knew?"

Davis gave him a thumbs up. "I did, of course. We had this in the bag."

Airdramon rolled her eyes. "Then I shouldn't have bothered to come back. To think I was actually worried."

Kari smiled. "You're such a softy. I knew it all along."

The dragon Digimon bared her fangs. "Don't get cute with me, human. Next time, I'll leave you all to die."

"What next time?" Takato asked. "We won. It's over."

Tai glanced at him with a forlorn look on his face. "Is it? Is it really?"

Takato appeared confused. "Well, yeah. We beat ExoGrimmon, and ChaosPiedmon. What's left?"

TK pointed up. "Don't you remember that crystal projection? Whoever that was on there, they're the one behind everything. Santamon's kidnapping, Argomon taking over that place so Darcmon could look for the keycards, the Kogamon and Ninjamon scrolls being stolen-"

"Speaking of which," Kari interrupted, "we still need to get those scrolls back, and it sounds as if they were sent to whoever this master of ChaosPiedmon's is."

Shoutmon was biting his lower lip, looking very uncomfortable. He seemed to be having an internal battle, his nervousness increasing as flashes of guilt crossed his face. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. "Guys, I need to tell you something!"

The others looked at him, surprised by his outburst. "Um, ok," said Takato. "What's up?"

The dragon Digimon was sweating nervously. "I think I know who it is. I suspected it when I realized that ChaosGrimmon and Piedmon were working together, but not until he Digivolved to ChaosPiedmon did I became certain."

The teens shared a look while Airdramon seemed disinterested. "Ok, so what are you sure about?" Tai asked uncertainly.

Shoutmon took a deep breath. "The one behind all this. I think it was-"

"Piedmon!" the same voice from before thundered. From up above, the crystal projector floated down, and the hologram screen appeared once again with the same silhouette as before. "Is it done yet?"

All attention had shifted to the hologram. The teens seemed surprised at first, but Davis recovered first. Puffing out his chest, he stood up straight and addressed the image. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but your friend is certainly staring at the inside of his Digi-Egg right now."

The unknown Digimon was silent for several moments. "You? You humans defeated him?"

"And as ChaosPiedmon no less," Takato added, attempting to intimidate the Digimon on screen. "So you should think twice about messing with us."

The Digimon shifted in a way that suggested he was now resting his chin, if he even had one, on his knuckles. "Me, mess with you? I think you have that backwards, littler human. It was _you_ who involved yourself in my affairs. A fatal move on your part. There are significantly better ways to end your life. Less painful ways."

Tai glared at the image. "Yeah, it's real easy to make threats when you're hiding behind a hologram in the shadows. Why don't you show yourself?"

The Digimon on screen shifted again, as if he were now standing up straight from having been sitting down. "Hiding? You think I would hide? From you? Oh, human, you truly delude yourself." He began walking forward. "Nevertheless, if you wish to look upon the face of your death, I shall indulge you."

He stepped into the light, and his features were revealed. Clad head to toe in white, green, and gold armor, it was impossible to say who or what lay beneath it, yet ten purple bat wings that seemed more solid than leathery grew from his back. His entire head, including his face, was covered by a helmet that possessed a golden X on it, though it looked like it should have been turned into the position of a cross instead.

"Behold your doom," the Digimon told them. "I am ShadowSeraphimon, and you shall have the honor of dying at my hands."

"ShadowSeraphimon…" TK repeated, feeling a sense of foreboding.

Shoutmon was sweating again, even worse than before. "It's you. ChaosPiedmon and ExoGrimmon were working for you."

"Shoutmon," ShadowSeraphimon acknowledged. "I see you're still being a nuisance. We'll have to do something about that."

Kari glanced at the dragon Digimon. "Shoutmon, you know him?"

"Everyone does. He's the most powerful of all the fallen angel Digimon. In a way, you can consider him to be Cherubimon's opposite. He too has been around since the Digital World began, never dying once."

"Something you cannot claim," the fallen angel Digimon stated. "You should have known better than to challenge me. Your humans don't know any better, but that's still no excuse. And since ChaosPiedmon failed, that will leave it to me to finish the job."

"It doesn't have to come to that," Davis told him. "We can still end this peacefully. Just give us back the Kogamon and Ninjamon scrolls, and we can end this now."

ShadowSeraphimon laughed. "You humans are so ignorant. There are events taking place that you know nothing about. If you seek death that badly, then come to me. I will be waiting for you. Come to die if that's really what you want. Or run and hide, the result will be the same either way. You deaths were certain the moment you opposed me."

"I'm hanging up now," Shoutmon declared. _"Fiery Fastball!"_

The crystal shattered, and the image of ShadowSeraphimon disappeared. That was it then, they knew who the enemy was. After several red herrings, they now knew the real face of the enemy; figuratively speaking since ShadowSeraphimon's face was hidden beneath his helmet.

"It's never going to end," said Takato, the despair in his voice evident. "Every time we defeat one enemy, someone new and even stronger comes to take their place."

Davis clapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, no worries. We're getting stronger too."

Takato shook the arm off. "It doesn't matter if we get stronger. We can't fight all the evil Digimon of the world. What if ShadowSeraphimon is just the beginning? How many of these guys do we have to fight?"

Tai grabbed him. "Get ahold of yourself. We can do this. We've come this far; we can't turn back now. For all we know, ShadowSeraphimon could be the final obstacle."

The younger boy sighed, his shoulders slumping. "I just… I want to go home. I'm tired of all this fighting, and killing, and almost dying. Even though we can turn into Digimon, that doesn't make us Digimon."

The group was silent as they took this in. "He's right," Takuya muttered. "This is getting out of hand. It's _already_ out of hand. We're in way over our heads. We're kids, we shouldn't be here. We should be home, going to school, playing with our friends. Not stuck in a world that's not our own, fighting monsters."

Davis threw his hands in the air. "Come on, guys! Don't let it get you down. Look at it this way; we're on an adventure, an adventure no one else will ever be able to experience. This should be fun."

Takuya glared at him. "This is serious, Davis. It's not some game. Don't you realize how many times we've almost been killed since coming here? If we keep this up, one of us is going to die!"

"Then what would you have us do?" Tai shouted suddenly. All heads turned to him, surprised by his outburst. "What choice do we have but to strive onward? It's the only way we can get home. Yes, it's tough. Yes, it's dangerous. Yes, one of us, or all of us, could end up dead, but when it comes down to it, we don't have any other options. Even if we didn't want to fight anymore, we can't run away. ShadowSeraphimon has made it perfectly clear that he doesn't intend to let us go. I hate it too, but there's no other way. We have no choice but to keep fighting."

Everyone stared at him, but Tai was too lost in his own emotions to notice the looks they were giving him. Finally, TK placed a hand on his shoulder and nodded. "I agree with Tai. We have to fight. Not only do we not have a choice, we also have an obligation." He looked at the others. "We made a promise to recover the scrolls. It's our fault ShadowSeraphimon has them in the first place; we let Asuramon get away. We have a responsibility to fix our mistakes. I'd never forgive myself if innocent people were hurt because we failed, especially if we did nothing."

TK seemed to have said what Tai was thinking, and the older boy slowly regained control of himself. "My thoughts exactly." He closed his eyes. "However," and opened them again, "once we defeat ShadowSeraphimon, that's it. We're not involving ourselves in any more of the Digital World's affairs. We can't afford to. Takato and Takuya are right; if we keep this up, it's never going to end, and we're eventually going to end up dead. No more sticking our noses in where it doesn't belong." He looked at the dragon Digimon. "Shoutmon, if we beat ShadowSeraphimon, can we count on you to return the scrolls to the Kogamon and Ninjamon once we go back to the Real World?"

The dragon Digimon blinked. "Who? Me? Oh, sure, of course. I won't let you guys down." He gave Takato and Takuya a smile. "And here's a little fun fact that'll make you feel better. I know where ShadowSeraphimon's castle is, and it's not that far from Cherubimon's. We'll be able to make it there is just a few days."

Collective gasps escaped the teens. "Are you serious?" TK demanded.

Kari clapped her hands together. "We're really that close to getting home?"

The dragon Digimon nodded. "If Cherubimon can help you, then yes."

"That's great!" Tai exclaimed. He turned to the larger dragon Digimon. "Airdramon, can you give us a ride?"

The dragon Digimon blinked. "What? Fly you to ShadowSeraphimon's castle?" She snorted. "Are you out of your mind? I'm not going anywhere near there, especially if he's after you. Don't make the mistake in thinking we're best friends. I only brought you here out of gratitude for rescuing Santamon. And I only came back to help in order to repay my debt from when you saved me from being stuck as a keychain. But no more, you're on your own from now on. Good luck to you; I'm out."

She took to the air and flew out the opening in the wall. Takato stared after her before glancing at his friends. "She's kidding, right? She's going to come back, isn't she?"

But she didn't, and soon the dragon Digimon disappeared into the night. "No, I don't think she's joking," Takuya replied. "She's gone."

Davis scowled. "Geez, what a jerk. I can't believe she actually left us like that. Again."

"Well, she did save our lives," TK pointed out. "And she brought us this far. I suppose we should be grateful for that."

"Yeah, great, but what do we do now?"

Kari looked at the opening in the wall. "I guess we walk. We've done plenty of that."

Davis sat down. "I'm too tired to walk."

Tai chuckled. "You're not alone there. We'll stay here for tonight and head out tomorrow." He looked at his Digivice. "None of us have any power anyway. It'd be better to stay here."

Takato looked around nervously. "Really? Staying in the enemy's home? Is that really such a good idea?"

Takuya placed his hands on his hips. "Well, we beat ExoGrimmon and ChaosPiedmon."

"I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about any possible guards or subordinates."

Shoutmon just waved this off. "Ah, I don't think we need to worry about that. Those two wanted to fight us, so they probably sent all their servants away, or at least told them not to attack us. Besides, most tyrannical Digimon like them rule out of fear. Any servants they had wouldn't bother us now that they're gone. If we haven't seen any by now, I doubt we'll run into anyone at all."

"And those that served out of loyalty?" Takuya asked.

"Wouldn't dare to challenge the ones who managed to beat their masters. If we beat them, we'd wipe the floor with their subordinates."

TK sighed. "Ok, you made your point." He looked at his Digivice. "But we have no power left. If they attack now, we're done for."

Shoutmon chuckled. "Yeah, but they don't know that. Trust me, I think we're good."

At that moment, Davis' stomach rumbled loudly. "Well, I'm convinced. So what do you say we go find out where the kitchen is."

The others sighed.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

ShadowSeraphimon sat patiently on his throne as he waited for his… guests to arrive. All around him, several Bakemon flew about, catering to his every whim. The ghost Digimon looked at their master nervously, fearful for their very lives. He had been eerily calm since he had learned of ExoGrimmon and ChaosPiedmon's defeat.

Hesitantly, a lone Bakemon hovered over to the fallen angel Digimon. "Master, do you require anything of us?"

ShadowSeraphimon didn't even bother to glance at the clearly terrified ghost Digimon. "Only silence."

The Bakemon bowed its head and drifted back into the swarm of ghost Digimon, and ShadowSeraphimon received the silence he requested. The only bit of discontent he displayed was the tapping of his finger against the armrest of his throne.

Finally, the doors to his throne room opened, and a Digimon that perfectly resembled a Bakemomn, with the exception of a black witch's hat that fell over its eyes, floated in. "My lord, your guests have arrived."

ShadowSeraphimon dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "Send them in and leave us."

The Bakemon look-alike bowed and exited the room as the actual Bakemon began to exit, but their master's voice stopped them. "Not you. You all remain here."

Still looking nervous, the ghost Digimon did as they were told. A few moments later, five new Digimon entered the room, each one more ferocious and vicious in appearance than the last. They came to a stop in front of ShadowSeraphimon, and the giant-winged dragon Digimon, and apparent leader of the group, addressed their host. "You summoned us?"

The fallen angel Digimon leaned forward. "I did, and I welcome you, Examon, MetalPhantomon, Murmukusmon, Phelesmon, SkullMeramon. The five of you have a reputation of being the most notorious team of assassins in the entire Digital World. I have a job for you."

The Digimon known as Phelesmon, a hideously demonic black and red creature, chuckled. "I guess our reputation proceeds us."

"We'll take any job as long as the pay is agreeable," Examon acknowledged. "Who would you like us to kill?"

ShadowSeraphimon stood up and began walking to the side with his hands behind his back. "I'm sure you've heard the rumors of there being humans in the Digital World."

SkullMeramon, a Digimon that resembled a large muscular man with a metal skull face, wearing chains and covered in blue fire, snorted. "Nonsense. They're just ridiculous stories that have gotten out of hand."

ShadowSeraphimon stopped. "No, the rumors are true. There are humans in our world, and they dare to challenge my power. This is inexcusable. I want you to hunt them down and kill them."

MetalPhantomon, a Digimon that could pass for the grim reaper, gave the fallen angel Digimon a curious look. "Why not simply kill them yourself?"

The fallen angel Digimon glanced over his shoulder at them. "I have far more important things to do than worry about a group of miserable humans. All the same, I cannot let their defiance go unpunished, especially after they destroyed ChaosGrimmon and ChaosPiedmon."

Murmukusmon raised an eyebrow. "They defeated the Chaos Generals. That's rather impressive."

ShadowSeraphimon turned to them. "Indeed. ChaosGrimmon even managed to Digivolve to his Mega form, and he still fell. I cannot have others questioning my power or defying me. These humans must pay."

MetalPhantomon cocked his head to the side. "How much?"

"If you kill all seven of them, I'll pay each of you 100,000 bits. Deliver me Shoutmon alive, and you will each receive an extra 20,000."

SkullMeramon's eyes shined with excitement. "So, 600,000 bits altogether. Sounds like a good deal."

ShadowSeraphimon gave him a hard look from behind his helmet. "If you can pull it off."

"You doubt us?" Examon asked.

ShadowSeraphimon tilted his head forward slightly as if he were studying them. He snapped his fingers, and the Bakemon reacted. Coming together, they merged into a single giant Bakemon, its claws as well as its enormous size distinguishing it from other Bakemon. Snarling, it flew at Phelesmon.

The demon Digimon just laughed and fired a beam at the giant Bakemon. The ghost Digimon instantly turned to stone and dropped to the floor. Phelesmon jabbed forward with his pitchfork, shattering the statue, and the broken pieces dissolved into data.

ShadowSeraphimon nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Three seconds. Not bad. Quick and efficient."

"As always," Examon replied. "We'll take care if your human pest problem in no time."

The fallen angel Digimon sat down again. "Very good. And don't forget, bring Shoutmon to me alive, and there's an extra 20,000 for each of you."

Phelesmon ran his tongue over his fangs hungrily. I'll bring you back a nice little statue of him."

ShadowSeraphimon nodded again. "In the end, I don't care, but I want these this opposition eliminated. Take care of them, and you shall have your reward."

Examon bowed. "It will be our pleasure."

 **(A/N: Well, the true enemy behind a great many things have been revealed. Now, I know what so me of you are probably thinking. How can ShadowSeraphimon be the big boss when in Season 4, Aldamon seemed to defeat him effortlessly? Well, there are a few factors to consider. First is that Mercurymon wasn't a necessarily a "true" ShadowSeraphimon, he was just using Seraphimon's Fractal Code to become him. Second is that he had** _ **just**_ **Digivolved, and thus hadn't had time to acclimate to his new form and power. This is a genuine ShadowSeraphimon, that's been around since the beginning of the Digital World, growing progressively stronger over time. Much different scenario. And now he's sending a team of some lethal assassins after our heroes. Will they be able to handle what could possibly be the final villain? Stay tuned to find out.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear or are mentioned. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/ShadowSeraphimon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Examon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/MetalPhantomon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Murmukusmon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Phelesmon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/SkullMeramon**


	74. Chapter 74: Assault of the Dark Tower

**(A/N:** **Well, looks like we had a little scare with Fanfiction being down a couple days ago. It's never fun when our favorite websites aren't working. I was somewhat afraid it was due to the fact that the clock is ticking for** **Net Neutrality. I still can't believe they're doing that. Stupid, greedy, power-hungry officials. What about our rights? Lets at least hope Fanfiction won't be affected, but who know with those cheapskate money-grabbers. Lets just enjoy what we have while we have it until we can repeal what those #$%ers are attempting. Sorry, do I sound ticked? Well I am.** **So, to lift our spirits, here's a nice long chapter.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 74: Assault of the Dark Tower**

The Dark Tower was no hotel resort, but it did have several bedrooms. Rather luxurious ones at that. Some of the beds were enormous, which the teens supposed made sense due to the size some Digimon got.

"Dibs!" Davis cried, jumping into a bed the size of a professional swimming pool.

Sufficient to say, the group was exhausted after their fight. Despite that, a lookout was still required, and Shoutmon volunteered to take the first watch. "Actually, if one of you is willing to carry me tomorrow, I can sleep as you walk and keep watch all night tonight."

Tai raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're ok with that? What if we run into trouble? You'll be too exhausted to do anything."

The dragon Digimon just waved this off. "It's fine. You guys need the sleep. Don't worry about me."

Taking up his position, he bid the teens goodnight. Each going into their chosen rooms, they collapsed on the beds, savoring the softness. Tomorrow, they would go back to roughing it in the wilderness during the night, seeking shelter where they could. It was not something any of them were looking forward to. And as they settled in for the night, they were completely unaware of the massively large figure that had begun to make its way towards the Dark Tower.

TK was sleeping when a knock at his door woke him. Perhaps it was this sleeping outside and constantly being on guard that made him a light sleeper, but he rolled over and rubbed his eyes, looking towards the door with sleepy curiosity. "Who is it?"

The door opened and a head popped in. "Hey, sorry to wake you. Can I come in?"

He blinked sleepily. "Kari? Um, sure, come on it. What's the matter? Couldn't sleep?"

"Kind of." She closed the door behind her and walked over to the bed. "I just need to talk to someone, and I didn't want to wake up Tai after today's battle; he really needs the sleep. Do you mind?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. I'm here for whenever you need anything." He noticed that she was hugging herself, trying to keep warm, and he scooted over, offering her the blanket and space on the bed.

She gave him a grateful smile and climbed in, snuggling under the covers. They had slept in the same bed before when they were kids, but it was different now. It was also different from how they slept close together outside as well. Being in the same bed, under the same covers, it felt more personal, more intimate, and it brought a blush to Kari's cheeks. "Thanks."

TK was blushing as well, looking anywhere but at her. "Yeah, don't mention it." A few seconds of silence went by before he cleared his throat. "So, um, what's up?"

She didn't respond right away, simply bringing the covers up to her nose and mouth, almost as if she were hiding. "Just thinking about the future, and what lies ahead."

He gave her a curious look, wondering if what Takato and Takuya had said earlier had gotten to her. "You mean the upcoming battle with ShadowSeraphimon?"

She nodded, almost shyly. "That's one of the things. This could be our final battle."

Now he was confused. "But isn't that a good thing?"

Another nod. "Yes, but we've never faced anyone this powerful before. And isn't the last boss always the hardest?"

He chuckled. "This isn't a video game, Kari. I have no doubt that he's stronger than anyone else we've faced so far, but I have faith in us. I know we can do this. And then we have a clear path to Cherubimon's castle."

She looked away. "That's something else that worries me. We've all been acting under the assumption that Cherubimon will be able to tell us how we can get home." She sat up suddenly. "What if he doesn't know? What if no one knows? What if we never get home?"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down." He sat up too and took hold of her, detecting the telltale signs of hysteria rising in her voice; this must have been building up inside her for quite some time now. "Listen to me, Kari. We can't deal with what ifs. We don't have any certainties for this. Right now, we're just following our best lead and hoping for the best. We have to hold onto that hope. And if it turns out that Cherubimon can't help us, then we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. But for all we know, he can actually send us home himself. Just think, we could be back home in a matter of weeks."

She looked at him with something akin to worry in her eyes. "That's something that worries me too. We've been in this world for so long. I'm almost afraid to go back, to find out what's changed in our absence. We've been away for several months, TK. _Several months!_ Our families and friends surely think we're dead by now. How can we just suddenly reappear back into their lives? What would we even tell them? They'll think we're crazy if we tell them the truth. Should we just say we don't remember anything? Will they even believe that?"

"One step at a time, Kari. Lets find out if we can even get home first. And in the meantime, we'll talk it over with the others and see if we can come up with a good story to tell everyone back home. As for everything else, there's no point in dwelling and worrying about what can't be changed." He took her chin and turned her head so he could look into her eyes and gave her a reassuring smile. "Hey, it'll be ok, 'cause no matter what happens, we'll be together."

She stared into his smiling face, trying to read how genuine he was being, or if he was simply telling her what she wanted to hear to reassure her. But she saw it; he truly believed that everything would work out. Hopeful TK, always hoping for the best. That was all she needed.

Slowly, the tension left her body, and she returned the smile. "Thanks, TK. That really helps." With her worries somewhat set at ease for now, the exhaustion hit her full force, and she closed her eyes, leaning in to rest against the blonde boy. "I'm so tired."

Feeling flustered, TK gave her somewhat of a one-arm hug. "Come on, I'll take you back to your room."

"Mmm," she mumbled sleepily, nestling into him. "Can't I just sleep here tonight?"

TK's blush deepened. His mind immediately jumped from one image to the next. While some were rather appealing, the vision of Tai coming down on him for 'sleeping' with his sister made his stomach coil with dread, and the thought of how much complaining Davis would do was already giving him a headache.

But then he dismissed these fears. Unless they were on watch duty, Tai and Davis were always the last ones to wake up. And after the battle they had, they must be especially tired. The chances of either one of them waking up before him and Kari, let alone catching them in the same bed together, were slim to none. And besides, having Kari next to him like this was… nice.

"Sure," he told her, "you can stay."

But she didn't answer; she was already asleep. TK carefully laid her down and adjusted the covers around them. She scooted closer to his warmth in her sleep and sighed in contentment. TK smiled as he settled beside her and shut his eyes. He was asleep in seconds.

Outside, the ground shook as the unknown figure continued its approach.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

The entire tower shook with such intensity that it literally threw the teens out of their beds, giving them a very unpleasant awakening. Davis didn't wake up as he went flying through the air like the others did, but the landing on his head certainly got the job done.

"Alright, I'm up!" he snapped, rubbing his head. "No need to hit me."

The tower shook again, raining down stone and plaster as ceilings and walls collapsed. As Davis sat up, a rather large chunk of ceiling dropped down and landed a little too close to home. That startled the boy into waking up fully, and he scurried to his feet, looking at the trembling tower in confusion. "Hey, what's going on?"

He hurried out of the room, meeting up with the others in the hall. They all seemed just as bewildered as him as debris continued to rain down around them. Fortunately, during all the commotion, no one noticed TK and Kari coming out of the same room.

"What's happening?" Takato cried, pulling his goggles over his eyes. "Earthquake?"

Davis snapped his fingers. "I know just what to do." He ran over and stood in the doorframe. "See, this way nothing will fall down on you."

Tai cut his eyes at him. "Uh, Davis…"

"Come on, you guys; get under here!"

"Davis-" TK began.

"Look, I know what I'm talking about. I learned all about this disaster stuff."

"Davis!" the teens all shouted.

"What?" He looked around and realized that the entire wall had collapsed, leaving _only_ the doorframe he was under standing. "Oh, ok then. Plan B. Duck and cover!"

He crouched down and covered his head as Shoutmon came running over to them. "It's no earthquake! We're under attack!"

"Under attack?" Takuya repeated. "I thought you were keeping watch."

"I fell asleep, ok! I'm sorry! I'm a bad Shoutmon!"

The tower shook violently again as whoever was attacking dealt more damage. "So who's attacking us?" Tai asked. "ShadowSeraphimon? One of ChaosPiedmon's servants?"

The dragon Digimon shook his head. "No, I don't think it's anyone related to them at all. It's-"

The tower shook more violently than ever, and, suddenly, the ceiling was completely lifted away as the top half of the tower broke off, and they got a good look at their attacker. Whoever they were, they were enormous, easily the biggest Digimon they had ever seen, resembling a demonic ram of some kind.

Catching sight of the teens, the Digimon looked at them with interest, and not the good kind, but the kind where it was curious as to how it should kill them. On what was pretty much reflex, Takato checked his Digivice. "Gulfmon, a Mega level demon beast Digimon. He has a second mouth on his lower body that somehow connects to the abyss of the Dark Area, and anyone who gets swallowed up by it will have their soul shattered and remained trapped there. He sings to unleash his _Dead Scream_ attack, which instantly kills anyone who hears it. That sounds creepy."

"And familiar," Davis replied. "Didn't that Memphismon guy have a singing power like that?"

"It's Mephistomon," Shoutmon corrected, staring up at the giant Mega Digimon looming over them. "And considering that Gulfmon is the Mega level of Mephistomon, it makes sense."

"This guy is Mephistomon's Mega?" Kari asked, pointing up at the demon beast Digimon.

"Obviously not the one we fought, but still formerly a Mephistomon. He's no ordinary Mega though. His power is so great that it's said he could destroy the world in seven days."

"That's… pretty messed up," said Takato.

"Hey, guys," TK called, "how about we stop talking about this and RUN!"

They took off as Gulfmon's giant hand reached for them. It slid on the ground after them, smashing against the wall as they ran through the door. The demon beast Digimon roared and began clawing at and digging through the ceilings and floors as the teens ran down the stairs, the Dark Tower coming down around them.

"What's this guy's deal?" Takuya shouted over all the noise. "Why's he destroying everything?"

"With ChoasPiedmon gone, he's probably trying to claim the territory," Shoutmon called back. "It's not uncommon for a Digimon to try and take over an area once the big shot that had it before is out of the picture."

A large piece of ceiling dropped in their path, creating a large gap in the staircase. One by one, the teens leapt over the gap before continuing on their way.

"Why's he after us? Kari asked. "What'd we do?"

"Word is spreading across the Digital World that humans with Digimon powers are taking down the evil Digimon. Gulfmon is most likely trying to get rid of the competition since you beat ChoasPiedmon."

Ahead of them, Gulfmon's giant hand tore through the wall, destroying the staircase ahead of them completely. The teens came to a stop, unable to go any further. "So much for escaping," Takato grumbled. "Looks like we'll have to Spirit Evolve and fight him."

"Yeah, about that," Davis muttered as he looked at his Digivice. "I still don't have any power."

"Neither do I," said Tai, checking his. "It hasn't had enough time to recharge. It must take longer to reenergize a Mega level's power." He looked at the others. "How about you guys?"

TK looked at his Digivice. "I'm good to go."

"So am I."

"Same here."

"And me."

"Then lets do this. _Execute! Spirit Evolution… MagnaAngemon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Angewomon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… WarGrowlmon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… BurningGreymon!"_

There was no time to waste. Gulfmon's fist burst through another wall, and the entire ceiling collapsed. WarGrowlmon threw himself over Tai, Davis, and Shoutmon, allowing the rubble to come crashing down on his back rather than on his friends.

The others immediately began to dig them out, but the cyborg dinosaur Digimon burst out of the rubble unharmed, holding the others in his arms protectively. "Lets get out of here."

The four Ultimates took to the air, flying out the opening. Gulfmon's large eye followed them, and he reached out to grab them, just missing. Now that they were outside, they could see just how big the demon beast Digimon really was. He was definitely the largest one they had ever encountered. In fact, he was even bigger than they thought. His lower body was like that of a centaur, only it was like some kind of beast rather than a horse, and seemed much larger than necessary for his upper body. And right around his lower abdomen, there seemed to be a face of some kind, or at least a mouth, and the DigiDestined assumed it was the one that led to the Dark Area as described by Takato's Digimon Analyzer. And right now, it was beginning to open as energy gathered inside it.

In WarGrowlmon's arms, Shoutmon began to thrash around. "Move! Move! Get us out of the way!"

" _Black Requiem!"_ Gulfmon cried, and a massive red beam erupted from his lower mouth. The DigiDestined flew in four different directions. Gulfmon shifted his body to send the beam after Angewomon, who used her _Super Jump_ to launch herself at a faster speed away from the attack as the entire sky lit up in red from the blast.

"Whoa," WarGrowlmon muttered. "Now that's an attack. I can see how he would be able to destroy the world in just seven days. And how is it that a Digimon that seems incapable of speech can still scream out the names of their attacks?"

"The attack name is like a security code to use it," Shoutmon replied.

"Oh, well, I guess that makes sense," the cyborg dinosaur Digimon replied. He came in for a landing, setting his friends down as he stared at the demon beast Digimon. "So, how are we supposed to beat this guy? He's a Mega, and a super strong one at that. We're just four Ultimates."

"There's still a chance," Shoutmon told him, surprising the others. "He's very strong, but that massive power makes him unstable. The four of you might be able to bring him down. Just be sure not to let him sing, and watch out for his attacks."

"Good to know," WarGrowlmon replied, igniting his thrusters. He joined the others in the air and told them the good news. "Hey, guys, Shoutmon said that even though this guy's a Mega, he's very unstable, so we have a chance to beat him."

"Awesome," BurningGreymon replied. "Then lets teach this behemoth a lesson. _Pyro Barrage!"_

The energy bullets he fired sprayed across Gulfmon's face and torso. The demon beast Digimon hissed and held up his hand against the attack. MagnaAngemon flew forward and slashed Gulfmon's palm with his _Flying Sword of Justice_. Gulfmon screeched and smacked the angel Digimon away with his other hand.

" _Atomic Blaster!"_

" _Heaven's Charm!"_

WarGrowlmon and Angewomon's attacks exploded into Gulfmon's face. The demon beast Digimon glared at them before firing his _Black Requiem_. Fortunately, the attack took a long time to charge, allowing the group to flee from its path.

WarGrowlmon flew forward, slamming into Gulfmon's upper body, and began slashing away with his _Radiation Blade._ Gulfmon's hands clapped together on either side of the cyborg dinosaur Digimon. Dazed, WarGrowlmon unleashed his _Megalo Spark_ , and Gulfmon reacted by lifting himself into the air as if to make a slam-dunk before throwing him into Angewomon, whose _Celestial Arrow_ she had been about to fire went way off course.

BurningGreymon flew towards Gulfmon and unleashed his _Wildfire Tsunami_. Gulfmon reached onto his hind legs, recoiling from the flames. As he came down, he brought his fist down on the dragon Digimon, and BurningGreymon hit the ground, hard.

" _Dead Scream!"_ Gulfmon cried, his voice rising to a singsong voice.

Shoutmon immediately covered his ears. "Don't let him sing!"

As the demon beast Digimon's tuneful cry began to emit, MagnaAngemon slammed into his lower jaw with his _Magna Jump_ , cutting him off. He then used his _Excalibur's Grace_ , stabbing into Gulfmon's neck with his sword. "Let's see you try singing now."

Gulfmon's claw suddenly closed around him. The demon beast Digimon snarled before tossing MagnaAngemon to the ground as if he had made the winning touchdown. MagnaAngemon groaned from the impact, but barely had time to register the pain before Gulfmon's enormous foot came down on him, crushing and pinning him to the ground.

"Get off my friend!" BurningGreymon demanded, flying into Gulfmon's gut with his _Burning Grey Basher!_ He then followed up by repeatedly stabbing him with his _Crimson Fanger._

Gulfmon roared and raised his fist, only to have lightning strike his hand as Angewomon fired her _Holy Arrow_. WarGrowlmon fired his _Atomic Blaster_ at the leg stepping on MagnaAngemon, and Gulfmon removed his foot, allowing Angewomon to retrieve their comrade.

"Are you ok?" she asked, supporting him

"I've been better."

"Hang on a second. _Heaven's Cure!"_

MagnaAngemon felt himself healing and gave her a smile. "Thanks for that." A moment later, BurningGreymon crashed into the ground beside them, having been smacked away by Gulfmon. "Looks like he could use some healing too."

"I'm fine," the dragon Digimon replied stubbornly. "Save your energy. I don't need healing."

Gulfmon was looking down at them. He roared loudly, and the mouth around his abdomen opened and began gathering energy.

"There!" WarGrowlmon cried. "That's how we'll beat him. Give it all you've got! _Atomic Blaster!"_

" _Fire Below!"_

" _Heaven's Charm!"_

" _Heaven's Gate!"_

Shoutmon realized what they were attempting to do and immediately protested. "No, don't do it!"

"What?" Davis asked.

"They'll never be able to hold off his attack."

But it was too late to turn back as Gulfmon fired his _Black Requiem_. The massive beam collided with the other four attacks was held back for a brief moment. Then began to rapidly push them back.

"Crap!" BurningGreymon shouted as the attack came at them.

" _Shield and Counter!"_ MagnaAngemon cried, and the attacks collided with his barrier. He knew right away that he wouldn't be able to hold it back for long, let alone repel it. "Get out of here!"

The others didn't need to be told twice, and immediately flew out of the attack's path. MagnaAngemon, however, was unable to move, not without allowing the attacks to consume him.

"MagnaAngemon, get out of there!" Angewomon shouted.

He struggled to hold the attack back, but felt himself slipping. "I can't!"

He felt the attack burst through his barrier, and he dropped to his knees, watching as the beam came at him. That's when something struck him, sending him flying out of the attack's path. The beam exploded against the ground and erupted outward in a powerful blast.

"BurningGreymon!" the others shouted.

Caught up in the blast, the dragon Digimon went flying through the air and crashed to the ground, where he remained, unmoving. MagnaAngemon stared at his motionless friend in horror. "BurningGreymon… no…" He turned back to Gulfmon. "You monster!" He launched himself at him with his _Magna Jump_. "Why can't you all just leave us alone!?"

He flung his _Soul Vanisher_ at the demon beast Digimon, and was soon joined by Angewomon and WarGrowlmon. Gulfmon swiped at them and batted away their attacks, occasionally firing his _Black Requiem_ as Tai, Davis, and Shoutmon ran over to the fallen BurningGreymon. The dragon Digimon was out cold, or so Tai hoped, giving Shoutmon a nervous look. "Shoutmon, you don't think that since we humans don't break down into data when we die that he could be…?"

"We already went over this," the dragon Digimon replied. "He's not dead, but it was close. He only got caught up in the blast. Good thing to, 'cause if he had actually gotten hit, he wouldn't be here right now." He shook his head and reached out to touch his fallen friend. "What were those idiots thinking, challenging Gulfmon's _Black Requiem_ like that? I said Gulfmon's body was unstable, but his attacks are still incredibly powerful."

From up above, water droplets began dropping down as it began to rain, almost as if the heavens were weeping for BurningGreymon's defeat. Or perhaps to wake him from unconsciousness, as the dragon Digimon began to stir. His eyes slowly cracked open as water ran down his face, and a pained groan escaped him as he rolled onto his side. "What happened?"

"What do you think?" Shoutmon scolded. "You got blasted off your feet, you idiot. What were you thinking? First you challenge Gulfmon's attack, then you jump in front of it. Do you have a death wish?"

The larger dragon Digimon hung his head. "I was trying to save MagnaAngemon. He's the strongest of us Ultimates. I'm utterly useless at this point."

Tai gave him a look of disbelief. "How can you say that?"

BurningGreymon slammed his fist on the ground. "Because it's true. I've been useless for a while now. The last time I really did anything useful was during my fight with Hippogriffomon, and I barely won that. I couldn't do anything against, ChaosGrimmon, Piedmon, and Jokermon. I got my ass kicked by ExoGrimmon, I wouldn't have been able to scratch ChoasPiedmon, and now I can't even stand up to Gulfmon. What am I going to be able to do when we meet ShadowSeraphimon?"

He looked up into the sky, letting the rain flow over him. "You were right all along, Shoutmon. The power of these guys on the mainland, it's beyond anything we're capable of fighting against."

"Hey, man, it's not your fault," Davis told him. "These guys are Megas. I'm one too, and I can vouch for how strong they are."

BurningGreymon was silent as he continued to face the rain. All the while, the others kept up the fight against the demon beast Digimon. WarGrowlmon fired his _Atomic Blaster_ , and Gulfmon slammed his head forward, going straight through the attack and head-butting the cyborg dinosaur Digimon.

"That's my point," BurningGreymon finally said. "I want to get stronger too. I want to be able to fight guys like this." He looked back at the fight, a fire in his eyes. "I want to be able to protect my friends."

MagnaAngemon flew behind Gulfmon and began flinging energy blades at his backside. Gulfmon kicked back like a horse, his foot slamming into the angel Digimon and sending him flying into the horizon.

"I've had enough of being protected," BurningGreymon seethed. "I want to be the one to protect."

Angewomon was making sure to stay out of range of Gulfmon as she continuously fired her _Celestial Arrow_ at him. The demon beast Digimon roared at her and reared up onto his hind legs. Angewomon had been sure to keep enough distance between her and him in case he did this, but she had not anticipated him leaping into the air, nor had she expected his wings to be able to hold up his massive body to enable him to get as much air as he did. His claw shot out and snatched her out of the sky as he came down with a mighty earthshattering _thud_. Squeezing her tightly, the demon beast Digimon held her up close and roared at her. His breathe smelled like death itself.

"Gulfmon!" BurningGreymon bellowed. Slowly, the giant Digimon turned to him. "I'm your opponent! You leave my friends alone!"

He roared loudly, and his body burst into flames, the falling raindrops evaporating before they even touched his flaming body. He launched towards Gulfmon like a fiery meteor, but the demon beast Digimon just sneered at him as he drew back his giant fist to knock the flaming dragon Digimon from the sky.

"I'm not backing down!" BurningGreymon declared as he continued to fly towards Gulfmon's approaching fist, his body shining all the brighter as his flames danced around him. "Not now, not ever again! _BurningGreymon_ _ **Mega**_ _Digivolve to… Aldamon!"_

Gulfmon's fist met with the incoming fireball. Aldamon's own fist slammed into the much larger one, the impact sending out a shockwave that shook the land. Gulfmon's wrist snapped back as it buckled under the strength of the newly Digivolved Mega's power, and he howled in pain, dropping Angewomon from his other hand.

The flames surrounding the fire wizard Digimon's body erupted outward, revealing Aldamon's form. Half the size of BurningGreymon, he now resembled a cross between his Ultimate and Champion forms, containing the most powerful parts from each, as if any weak or lacking parts from one form were replaced or filled in by the other to create one perfect powerful body that lacked any flaws the other two stages might have had.

But Aldamon seemed completely oblivious to his new form, all his attention focused entirely on his opponent. "Lets see what this does for you. _Solar Wing Destroyer!"_

A massive fireball was thrown at Gulfmon, blasting the demon beast Digimon back, and causing him to fall onto his rear end. From behind, Aldamon heard the sounds of thrusters, and turned to find WarGrowlmon in the air behind him with Angewomon on his shoulder. "Nice move, um, Aldamon. And nice attire."

Angewomon nodded as she joined the two. "Yes, congratulations to you."

Aldamon turned his attention back towards Gulfmon. "Don't congratulate me just yet. We still have to take this guy down. Where's MagnaAngemon?"

"I'm here," the angel Digimon in question replied as he flew over to them. "You wouldn't believe how far he kicked…" He trailed off as he noticed the new Digimon amongst them. "Wait, did I miss something?"

Aldamon refused to take his eyes off the demon beast Digimon. "I just Digivolved. Nothing important. Now lets finish this."

"I'm onboard with that," WarGrowlmon replied.

Gulfmon roared and began marching towards them. Aldamon unleashed his _Atomic Inferno_ attack, firing countless fireball missiles at the demon beast Digimon. MagnaAngemon came up beside him and used _Soul Vanisher_ , his energy blades joining Aldamon's fireballs.

Gulfmon recoiled from the attacks, shielding his face with his hands. WarGrowlmon flew forward, latching onto Gulfmon's chest and used _Megalo Spark_. The demon beast Digimon looked down at him and brought a fist down. WarGrowlmon immediately let go and used _Atomic Blaster_ to push himself from the demon beast Digimon, avoiding his fist.

He didn't move far away enough to get out of range, and Gulfmon reached for him. Angewomon launched herself forward with her _Super Jump_ , slamming into Gulfmon, causing him to stumble back. He swiped at her when she retreated, but missed, and he glared at the four Digimon before him. _"Dead Scream!"_

"I don't think so!" Aldamon shouted, flying forward. As Gulfmon opened his mouth to begin singing, he fired his _Solar Wind Destroyer_ down his throat. Gulfmon coughed and sputtered, grasping his throat as flames and smoke shot out of his nostrils.

"You know," said WarGrowlmon, "for someone whose body's supposed to be unstable, this guy's certainly holding up pretty well."

"Well, he _is_ a Mega," MagnaAngemon pointed out.

Angewomon pointed. "Heads up, guys!"

Gulfmon's lower mouth was opening again, and energy was gathering in preparation for his _Black Requiem_. Aldamon's eyes narrowed at the sight. "Let's try our previous strategy again, a little sooner this time. _Solar Wing Destroyer!"_

" _Atomic Blaster!"_

" _Heaven's Gate!"_

" _Celestial Arrow!"_

Their timing was quicker, their attacks flying forward and into Gulfmon's second mouth. The demon beast Digimon looked down as his lower body began to expand, tears began spreading across his lower body as stream of light burst through his stomach, back, and sides.

There was a fiery blast, and the entire backside of Gulfmon's lower body burst into data, leaving the demon beast Digimon standing on two legs. With an inhuman wail, he started to fall backwards as he began to break down into data. His body completely dissolved before he even hit the ground.

The four DigiDestined hovered in the air, another threat eliminated. WarGrowlmon sighed, his shoulders slumping as he watched the vast amount of data flow through the air. "Well, I'm beat. As if being woken up in the middle of the night hadn't been bad enough."

"You're telling me," MagnaAngemon agreed. "Too bad we don't have those beds anymore."

Angewomon made an unhappy noise. "I know. All I want to do is sleep for the next year."

"Not me," Aldamon replied. "I'm full of energy. I feel all fired up."

WarGrowlmon cut his eyes at him. "That's because you just Digivolved, and you're a Fire type." He looked down at the others. "We should go see if they're alright."

One by one, they came down from the sky. They landed by Tai and Davis while Shoutmon had taken off, presumably to try and get to Gulfmon's data before it disappeared. The two boys were unable to tear their eyes away from Aldamon.

"You guys ok?" the fire wizard Digimon asked.

"Are we ok?" Davis asked. "Are _you_ ok? Just look at you; you're a Mega!"

Aldamon glanced down at himself. "Yeah, so I am."

"How'd you do it?" MagnaAngemon asked.

He reverted back to Takuya. "I just… I couldn't stand being useless anymore, just stuck on the sidelines, unable to help. The next thing I knew, I felt this overwhelming energy filling me up. And then, well, you know."

The other three changed back to their human forms as well. "It seems that all of us are gaining access to our Mega forms." Kari pointed out. "Maybe by the time we reach ShadowSeraphimon, we'll all be Megas."

"What do you think, Shoutmon?" Takuya asked. He looked around, realizing that the dragon Digimon wasn't there. "Um, Shoutmon? Where'd you go?"

Tai cut his eyes. "He went after Gulfmon's data. That guy can be so greedy."

"Hey, I'm not going to let good data go to waste," Shoutmon objected as he made his way over to them. He nodded at Takuya. "Nice job reaching Mega. Our team is getting stronger."

TK nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's almost like the power comes to us when we really need it."

Grinning broadly, Davis crossed his arms. "I guess we're just totally awesome."

Shoutmon tapped his chin. "I think I'm beginning to understand this human-Digimon relationship. I've been coming up with a few theories, and I think I'm starting to make sense of it all."

"Great," said Takato. "So, what is it?"

The dragon Digimon shook his head. "I can't say for sure yet. It's still just a theory. I need to see more." He looked out upon the horizon with a forlorn expression on his face as the rain continued to pour down. "And, unfortunately, something tells me I'll get the chance to see it."

 **(A/N: Well, this was an exciting chapter, wasn't it? We had a bit of fluff between TK and Kari, an exciting battle with Gulfmon, and to top it off, BurningGreymon managed to Digivolve to the Mega level. Things are looking up. Or are they? Kari had some pretty legitimate concerns. TK may have made her feel better, but those were some good concerns. How will things work out for our heroes? Things are going to get very dramatic and action packed in the upcoming chapters.)**

 **Aldamon's attacks:**

 **Solar Wind Destroyer** **–** _ **Creates an explosive ball of holy fire as hot as the sun's core and throws it.**_

 **Atomic Inferno** **–** _ **Rapidly fires extremely high-temperature shots.**_

 **Praying Sutra** **–** _ **effects unknown.**_

 **Meditating Prayer** **–** _ **effects unknown.**_

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Gulfmon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Aldamon**


	75. Chapter 75: Angst

**(A/N: Hello, my readers. Merry Christ** **kwanzanukkahmas! Was that a little over the top? Ok then, Seasons Greetings everyone.** **I've been waiting to get to this chapter for a while. I hope you'll enjoy it. I'm really excited for it, especially the end. But I don't want to spoil anything, just be prepared for things to get a little dark and emotional.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 75: Angst**

The rain that had begun during the battle with Gulfmon had lasted for three days straight. While the teens had suffered through rainy days before, it had never been for so long. The nights were hard, finding whatever shelter they could, huddling together for warmth, unable to even keep a fire going.

Being stuck in the rain for so long, it was only a matter of time before one of them eventually got sick, and that's exactly what happened. And the unfortunate one was none other than Kari. She had tried to hide it at first, but it soon became apparent that something was wrong. She kept insisting that she was all right, but eventually it became too much for her, and she finally collapsed.

Based on her symptoms, it was determine that she had most likely developed pneumonia. The whole group was worried about her, but Tai was having the most trouble keeping it together. It was all he could do to keep from panicking. "Isn't there a hospital or something we can take her to?"

Shoutmon sighed, growing impatient. "Does it look like there's a hospital around? Where in the middle of nowhere. There's nothing around for miles."

The boy growled in frustration. "Well, we've got to do something! She's got a fever." He walked over to his sister where she was lying down, her head resting on a pile of leaves, seemingly asleep. He looked down at her worriedly, crouching down beside her. "Kari…"

Her eyes cracked open, and she looked up at him. "Hey, Tai."

He gave her a smile. "Hey, Kari. How you feeling?"

She shut her eyes again. "Tired. Hot. Thirsty."

He frowned and looked around worriedly. Their rations and other supplies they had received had been lost when the Dark Tower collapsed, and now they were stuck out here without food or water. The others had hurried off to try and find anything that could help while he stayed with her, but none of them were back yet.

Reaching out, he felt her forehead. She was burning up, and her skin felt clammy. He wished he could take her temperature, or maybe he didn't want to know how high her fever was.

"Don't worry," he told her, the others are getting you something to eat and drink."

"Mmm," she muttered sleepily. "Where's TK?"

He gave her hand a squeeze. "He'll be back soon. They all will. You'll be ok, Kari. I'll take care of you."

She didn't answer, and seemed to have fallen asleep again. Tai stood up and began pacing impatiently. Shoutmon watched him, wishing there was something he could do, but he didn't know how to treat humans. Besides, it was only a cold. She should be fine after a few days of rest, shouldn't she? Or were colds much more serious for humans than they were for Digimon?

Takato was the first to return. He'd found a stream and had filled his goggles with water. They managed to get Kari to drink some, even though her throat was sore. TK was the next to return, his arms full of sticks and branches. With a _Fiery Fastball_ from Shoutmon, they soon had a fire going, despite the wood being damp.

Takuya arrived shortly after that, carrying several giant leaves that were easily two or three feet long. "I figured we could wrap them around her and she could use them like a blanket to keep warm.

Tai nodded and began to do just that. "That's a good idea, thanks."

He was just finishing up tucking the leaves around her when Davis came running over, his hands full of berries. "Hey, guys, I found a berry bush a ways from here, so I grabbed all I could and- wah!" He tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground, dropping his handful. His concern shifted to his pants pocket, and he turned it inside out to find that all the berries inside had been crushed. "Aww…"

Salvaging what they could, they tried to get Kari to eat, but she turned them down, claiming she wasn't hungry, and soon fell asleep again. TK sighed and asked Takato to show him where the stream was. He then aligned the inside of his hat with leaves and filled it with water, essentially turning it into a water pouch. He then proceeded to soak a wet rag in the water and drape it over Kari's forehead. Unfortunately, the rag was actually a sock, but beggars couldn't be choosey.

Tai stood off to the side as TK tended to his sister, chewing on his lower lip anxiously with his arms crossed, drumming his fingers against his side in frustration. "This is ridiculous! My sister is sick, and I can't do anything!"

Takato winced and gave the older boy a hopeful look. "I think we should be grateful that only one of us got sick."

"And that none of us got sick before now too," Takuya added. "We've been lucky."

Tai rounded on the two of them furiously. "That doesn't help us right now! I feel so damn useless! There's got to be something I can do!"

He stormed off angrily. Takato and Takuya shared a look, both wishing they had kept their mouths shut, even if they had been trying to look on the bright side. Shoutmon just raised an eyebrow and looked at the teens curiously. "What's he so bent out of shape about? It's just a cold. It's not like she's dying or anything."

"That's besides the point," TK told him as he dunked the sock back in the water before ringing it out and placing it back on Kari's head. "Remember that conversation we had a long time ago, of how Kari had poor health when she was younger. Even though that's no longer the case, that fear and protectiveness Tai has when it comes to her health is still there. Add in the fact that we're in a strange world where she can't just be taken to the hospital, or even get medicine, and he's doubly worried."

Well, heck, if that didn't make Shoutmon feel like a real jerk. He immediately chastised himself for being so insensitive, even if he hadn't meant to be. He was concerned for Kari too, but he hadn't thought that a cold was _that_ big of a deal. Now it made him seem like he didn't care.

"Ah, crap," he grumbled. "Stay here, I'll be back." He hurried after the older boy.

Tai didn't even know where he was going, nor did he have a plan of what to do; he simply couldn't just sit there feeling useless. He had to get moving, do something, anything. If he stayed there a moment longer, he was really going to lose it.

"Hey, Tai, wait up!" Shoutmon called after him. He hurried over as the boy stopped to let him catch up. "Hey, look, I'm sorry if I came across as being insensitive. I want you to know that I'll do whatever I can for your sister, for any of you guys actually."

Tai sighed. "No, I'm sorry. I know I'm not handling this well. I'm just worried about her. I still remember how she used to get sick a lot when she was little."

Ah, so TK had been right about that. "Yeah, that's why your mother started with all those super healthy, horrible tasting recipes you told us about." He saw that his attempt at humor hadn't worked and sighed. Walking up to him, he nudged his leg. "Hey, don't worry, your sister's strong. She'll pull through this. I have faith in her."

He felt like there was more he should say or do, and so he reached up and awkwardly hugged the teen's leg. Tai was silent as he tried to take the dragon Digimon's words to heart, telling himself over and over again that Kari was indeed going to be all right.

Releasing his leg, Shoutmon looked up at him and motioned back towards the campsite. "Come on, let's head back. There's nothing more we can do right now."

Tai sighed again, knowing he was right, and nodded. They were on their way back when it happened. The whistling sound of something flying through the air was heard, and the two stopped to listen. A moment later, the ground all but exploded beneath them. Tai and Shoutmon went flying, landing hard on the ground several feet from the impact sight.

The other teens, save for Kari, came running over to see what had happened. "Hey, what's going on?" Davis cried. "What was that noise?"

Tai groaned as he sat up, rubbing his hand. "Someone shot at us. Who was it?"

There was laughter from up above, and the teens looked up to see five Digimon flying down towards them. The one who was laughing was Phelesmon as he looked at the hole in the ground. "Wow, Examon, you almost got them."

The enormous gun-wielding dragon Digimon just snorted. "Ah, I would have got them had they not stopped walking."

Takuya glared up at them. "Who are these guys?"

Leaping off Examon's shoulder, SkullMeramon landed on the ground. "We're the ones who will be putting an end to you humans."

Davis made a sour face. "Why does everyone want to kill us? What did we do?"

Murmukusmon came in for a landing. "You're making waves that those in charge are not liking."

"That's why ShadowSeraphimon has put a hit on you," MetalPhantomon replied. "And we've come to collect."

TK fists clenched. "ShadowSeraphimon. Should have known. And he's not 'in charge' of anything. He's just a bully."

"And why'd he send you guys?" Takato asked. "I thought he wanted us to come fight him. So why's he trying to stop us?"

Phelesmon chuckled. "ShadowSeraphimon has more important things to worry about than a bunch of lousy humans causing trouble. So he hired us to take care of things."

Takuya took out his Digivice. "Who are you guys anyway? Lets see. SkullMeramon, an Ultimate level flame Digimon. He uses his fire and chain whips in a deadly combination. Phelesmon, an Ultimate level demon Digimon who grants a person's desire in exchange for their soul. Murmukusmon, a Mega level demon Digimon that was once a high-ranking angel Digimon before falling from grace. He has the power to take on the forms of different Digimon. MetalPhantomon, an Ultimate level cyborg Digimon whose power comes from another dimension. His sickle is capable of storing energy taken from the souls of those he's killed and unleashing it in a powerful blast. Examon, a Mega level dragon Digimon who holds the title of Royal Knight and is known as the Dragon Emperor. His giant sentient wings are made entirely out of the nearly indestructible Chrome Digizoid, and his gun lance is loaded with special shells stocked with viruses that have various effects."

"Ok, great," Davis grumbled. "What does that mean?"

"It means," Shoutmon said, backing away, "that we are in serious trouble."

TK couldn't help but notice that Shoutmon was staring at one Digimon in particular, and he studied Examon. "Hey, Shoutmon, do you know him?"

The little dragon Digimon gulped. "Everyone knows a Digimon like Examon. I'm not kidding here, guys. Examon is seriously powerful. He's easily the strongest Digimon we've come across so far."

The dragon Digimon in question held up his gun-lance. "You flatter me, but I'm afraid it won't save you. Don't take it personally; it's just a job. Lets just end things quickly."

"Get out of here." The command was spoken so softly that it was barely heard, yet all attention still shifted to Tai. He was standing with his head hanging, his shoulders trembling with suppressed emotion.

"Get out of here," he repeated, finally raising his head. "I don't have time to deal with you guys right now. My sister is sick; I can't be bothered with a bunch of freaks like you."

There was something in his eyes, something that sent a chill down his friends' spines. The group of assassins simply seemed caught off guard, never having had such a reaction from one of their targets.

A sadistic grin eventually spread across Phelesmon's face as he apparently found this to be very amusing. "You hear that, guys, he doesn't want to deal with us." He sneered at the boy. "What's wrong? Is this an inconvenient time for you to die?"

"No one's dying today!" Davis declared, holding up his Digivice. "Except for you guys. _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Imperialdramon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… WarGrowlmon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Aldamon!"_

" _Execute! Spirit Evolution… MagnaAngemon!"_

Tai did not take part in spirit Evolving. He looked at his Digivice before glancing back at his sister, the worry clearly written on his face. He felt a tug on his pants leg and looked down to see Shoutmon. "I'll stay with her. Don't worry, she'll be safe."

Still looking uncertain, Tai nodded. "Thanks, pal. _Execute! Spirit Evolution… WarGreymon!"_

"Focus on Examon," Shoutmon told him. "He's too strong for any one of you to fight on your own!"

"Got it. Imperialdramon, you're with me."

"Sounds good."

MagnaAngemon pointed his sword at Phelesmon. "I'll take him. I'll have the type advantage."

"Good call," Aldamon agreed. He zeroed in on Murmukusmon. "I guess the other Mega is mine. But that still leaves two left."

"I can handle them both," WarGrowlmon insisted. "Just leave it to me."

SkullMeramon laughed and crossed his arms. "How cute. They think they can stand up to us."

"This could actually be pretty fun," said Murmukusmon. "Lets see how long they last."

"Last against this!" Imperialdramon cried. _"Mega Fire!"_

He fired a beam of dark matter from his mouth. Four of the assassins took to the air, but Examon's giant wings wrapped around him. Imperialdramon's attack slammed into him, pushing him back, but when the beam finally ceased, Examon's wings were completely undamaged, as was he. WarGreymon charged forward and began slashing at the wings with his _Dramon Cutter_. Sparks went flying with each slash, but not a single scratch appeared on Examon's wings.

When WarGreymon finally stopped attacking, Examon's wings burst open, his gun-lance pointed at the dragon Digimon. He fired, and WarGreymon was blasted backwards. Imperialdramon rushed forward to take his place, using his _Shining Blade_. Examon's left wing came up, blocking his claw, and Imperialdramon unleashed his _Eternal Zeal_. The flames flowed over Examon, and he flew backwards, taking aim. _"Pendragon's Glory!"_

The laser struck Imperialdramon's shoulder and he fell forward. WarGreymon returned, leaping over him and threw a _Terra Force_. Examon's wings coiled around him again, protecting him from the blast. Spreading them apart, he open fired on the dragon Digimon, but WarGreymon used his _Great Tornado_ , deflecting the bullets as he sped towards Examon.

When he got too close, Examon once again wrapped himself in his wings, but WarGreymon anticipated this. He stopped spinning and used his _Grey Fire_ , performing a slam-dunk with the ball of fire into the opening at the top of Examon's wings.

Examon's wings burst open and he roared. Taking to the air, he was soon joined by WarGreymon and Imperialdramon. He looked from one to the other and grinned. "Alright, lets see what you've got."

A distance away, Murmukusmon chuckled as he watched the scene. "Those fools have no idea who they're dealing with." He turned to Aldamon, who had approached him. "What about you? Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?"

The fire wizard Digimon just glared at him. "I could ask you the same thing."

Murmukusmon chuckled. "Touché, my friend. _Necro Interrogation!"_

A sphere of dark energy appeared in his hand, and he threw it at Aldamon. The fire wizard Digimon knocked the attack away and pointed his Rudriya Darpaṇa at the demon Digimon. _"Atomic Inferno!"_

Literally thousands of fireballs flew towards Murmukusmon. The demon Digimon laughed and began zigzagging through the air, avoiding and knocking aside the fireballs as Aldamon had his own attack. "You enjoy playing with fire? How about some literal hellfire? _Gehenna Flame!"_

A stream of fire flew from his mouth. Aldamon held up his arms to shield himself as the flames flowed over him. Even as a Fire type Digimon, Murmukusmon's flames burned, badly. He lowered his arms, and immediately witnessed Murmukusmon's claws clamp down over his face. He was brought crashing to the ground with the demon Digimon on top of him.

He held out his hand, and another sphere of dark energy appeared in it. "So disappointing."

He moved to bring the sphere down on Aldamon, but the fire wizard Digimon's hand shot out, his Rudriya Darpaṇa clamping down on Murmukusmon's wrist. _"Solar Wind Destroyer!"_

Murmukusmon was blasted off him and sent flying. Aldamon jumped to his feet and sped after him, flying between Phelesmon and MagnaAngemon a moment before they came together, MagnaAngemon's blade pressing against Phelesmon's pitchfork. The two pushed against the other, the demon Digimon sneering at his opponent. "I'm going to enjoy this."

MagnaAngemon glared at him. "You demon Digimon are all seriously twisted."

"How's this for twisted?" He pulled back and leapt away. _"Black Statue!"_

" _Shield and Sword!"_ MagnaAngemon deflected the beam, and it hit a nearby tree, instantly turning it to stone. He charged at the demon Digimon, but Phelesmon unleashed his _Demon's Shout_. MagnaAngemon came to a halt as the sound waves flowed over him, clawing at his head. The wail increased in volume, eventually causing MagnaAngemon to drop to his knees.

Ceasing his scream, Phelesmon approached him, grinning. "My scream contains a curse that drives others mad. Are you feeling a little mad, MagnaAngemon?"

The angel Digimon began pounding his fists on the ground as he started foaming at the mouth. Phelesmon stood over him, laughing as an agonized wail escaped MagnaAngemon. He suddenly lunged forward, slashing Phelesmon across the chest, cutting off his laughter. MagnaAngemon forced himself to his feet, growling madly.

"I won't… give in…" he snarled, trying to keep his thoughts in order. "I won't… _Magna Antidote!"_

He turned the technique upon himself, and his mind immediately cleared of the madness that was plaguing him. He shook his head, and took a fighting stance, facing Phelesmon. The demon Digimon was looking down at the slash across his chest. After a few moments, he began to chuckle. "Impressive. I didn't think you had it in you." He grinned at the angel Digimon. "This is going to be even more entertaining than I thought." He glanced at the combatants a short distance away. "Though I can't say the same for your friend."

The friend he was referring to was WarGrowlmon. Claiming to be able to handle both SkullMeramon and MetalPhantomon was one thing, but actually doing it was another. The two assassins were double-teaming the cyborg dinosaur Digimon, barely giving him a chance to attack.

" _Flame Chain!"_ SkullMeramon cried, sending out a chain covered in fire. It coiled around his neck, and the flame Digimon yanked back on it. WarGrowlmon took an unwilling step forward, trying to pull back. With a snarl, he swung his _Radiation Blade_ , cutting through the chain, and SkullMeramon tumbled over.

" _Atomic Blaster!"_ WarGrowlmon cried, managing to get off an attack. MetalPhantomon flew down and cut through the attack with his sickle. He slammed into the cyborg dinosaur Digimon, knocking him over, then raised his sickle to strike.

" _Grave Scream!"_ Swinging his scythe, the sickle became pure energy and sliced through the air with an eerie sound. WarGrowlmon ignited his thrusters, sliding across the ground and avoiding the attack. Shifting his body, his thrusters lifted him onto his feet again, but SkullMeramon was already on his.

" _Blazing Iron Whip!"_ he cried, sending out numerous chain whips. They wrapped around WarGrowlmon, binding him. The cyborg dinosaur Digimon attempted to pull free, but despite his much smaller size, SkullMeramon was surprisingly strong. _"Metal Fireball!"_

Opening his mouth, he spat out a ball of melted metal that was pushed along by a stream of blue fire. WarGrowlmon wailed as it splashed against him, dousing him in burning liquid metal.

MetalPhantomon flew towards him, raising his sickle. At the last moment, WarGrowlmon stepped back, lifting his arm as much as he could. MetalPhantomon's scythe sliced through the air, cutting through a chain and freeing one of WarGrowlmon's arms.

"Thanks for that," the cyborg dinosaur Digimon mocked. _"Megalo Spark!"_

The electricity flowed through the chains and into SkullMeramon, who cried out and dropped to his knees. With his free hand, WarGrowlmon grabbed a handful of chains and yanked. SkullMeramon was pulled through the air, and WarGrowlmon swung him around, smacking him into MetalPhantomon. He then ripped the remaining chains off him and began stalking towards the two assassins.

"Get off me," MetalPhantomon snarled, pushing the flame Digimon off him. The two got up and turned to face WarGrowlmon, resuming fighting stances.

Up in the sky, neither WarGreymon nor Imperialdramon were making much progress with Examon. On the contrary, the assassin seemed to be playing with them. Though they managed to get a few hits in, Examon's seemingly indestructible wings were proving to be a real problem, shielding him from most of their attacks.

"I've had enough of this," WarGreymon growled. "Imperialdramon, lets try that combo move we used on ChaosPiedmon."

"Sounds good to me. _Positron Laser!"_

" _Terra Force!"_

The giant ball of energy flew into the path of Imperialdramon's attack, the laser pushing it towards Examon. The dragon Digimon just smirked and wrapped his wings around himself. The explosion was massive, and the two attackers looked on in hope, yet when the smoke cleared, Examon was still intact.

"Are you kidding me?" Imperialdramon wailed. "I'm done with this." He flew over to Examon, who still had his wings wrapped around himself, and pressed his cannon up against him. "I survived this once. _Mega Crusher!"_

The blast sent both of them flying back. WarGreymon dodged as Imperialdramon nearly crashed into him. "Nice one." He looked back to where Examon landed. "That had to have done something."

Rising up from the ground, the cocoon that was Examon encased in his wings rose up into the air. WarGreymon couldn't believe it, there _still_ wasn't a scratch on him. "No, that can't be."

He flew towards the cocooned Examon and began slashing at the dragon Digimon's wings. Sparks continued to fly with each impact, but still no damage appeared on Examon's wings. "This can't be! I can't lose here! I need to save Kari!" He struck again, and his gauntlet broke off. Snarling, he lashed out again, and his second one broke off as well, leaving his hands bare.

"You don't get it, do you?" said Examon, his wings slowly opening. "My wings provide me with the ultimate protection." He suddenly stabbed forward with his gun-lance, jabbing it into WarGreymon's gut. "Unfortunately, I can't say the same for you. _Avalon's Gate!"_

All the shells in Examon's gun-lance suddenly went off all at once. WarGreymon's eyes bugged out and he was blasted back, speeding through the air in a blur of movement, crashing to the ground and leaving a deep groove behind. He groaned in agony, his armor cracked to pieces, and a large wound present in his stomach. He immediately reverted to his human form and lay still.

Up in the air, Examon chuckled. "That's one down. No one can take a hit from my Ambrosius' full power and live."

"You'll pay for that!" Imperialdramon declared, flying towards him and using his _Shining Blade_. Examon batted away the dragon Digimon's swipes with his wings in a mock aerial dance.

Back on the ground, Shoutmon looked from Kari to Tai before hurrying over to the older sibling. He jumped into the groove, dancing around a bit as the hot surface burned his feet, and shook him. "Tai, Tai, wake up."

The boy groaned in pain, his eyes cracking open. "What happ- ow!" He clutched his stomach, curling into a ball. "What is this? Why's it hurt so much?"

The dragon Digimon breathed a sigh of relief. "Be grateful. That attack should have killed you. Turning back to your human form is probably what saved you; that seems to dispel your injuries."

"Saved me?" He looked up at the sky and witnessed the two dragon Digimon exchanging blows. His eyes narrowed. "Examon. I can't believe how strong he is."

"I _told_ you. Even if Aldamon had been fighting with you, it'd still be a tough match, especially with his defense."

"Defense…" Tai repeated. That's when he remembered that Shoutmon was meant to be defending someone. He climbed to his feet, wincing at the pain in his stomach, and looked around. "Where's Kari?"

He spotted her a distance away and limped over to her. She was still out, the heat from her fever causing a blush to form on her cheeks. Slowly, Tai reached out and felt her forehead; she was still very warm.

Shoutmon hurried over to them, looking down at Kari. "She's ok for now; she's still sleeping." He turned back to the melee. "But we've got to do something about these guys, or we're all going to end up dead."

A dark look appeared in Tai's eyes as he stared at his sister. "I won't let that happen."

He looked back at the others and the battles taking place. Examon, duking it out with Imperialdramon, his wings still defending him from a majority of Imperialdramon's attacks. WarGrowlmon being tag-teamed by SkullMeramon and MetalPhantomon, the flame Digimon whipping WarGrowlmon with his chains while the latter's scythe collided with the cyborg dinosaur Digimon's blade. Phelesmon and MagnaAngemon fighting out a duel, the demon Digimon using his pitchfork like a sword. Murmukusmon and Aldamon exchanging blows, both seemingly evenly matched.

Tai looked at his Digivice, seeing the blank screen. He squeezed the device painfully tight as a feeling of helplessness sent his anger skyrocketing. "They won't stop. These beasts, they just won't stop. Every time we defeat an enemy, a new and stronger one takes its place."

Shoutmon glanced at him, seeing the fire in his eyes. An uneasy feeling gripped him as he stared at the boy. "Tai…"

"I have to protect Kari. I will protect her, no matter what it takes."

His grip on his Digivice tightened further, and blood began to seep from his palm and run over it, but Tai didn't even seem to notice. Despite lacking power, a chiming began to emit from the device, drawing Shoutmon's attention to it. When the screen suddenly lit up completely red, he stepped back in surprise.

"I'll kill them," Tai seethed. "I'll kill them all. They won't lay a hand on my sister!"

A black fog seemed to flow out of the Digivice, consuming it and Tai's hand. It suddenly clicked as to what was happening, and Shoutmon gasped in realization. "No, not that!"

Tai didn't seem to hear him as a dark aura seemed to emit from his body. "Whatever power I have left, I will use it to stop these guys. No matter what it takes."

Shoutmon reached for him. "Tai, wait, you don't know what you're doing!"

" _Execute!"_

"Tai, don't! You can't use that power!"

" _Spirit Evolution…"_

"No!"

" _BlackWarGreymon!"_

 **(A/N: Ok, I'm sure I don't need to point out how this is a very bad thing. Someone asked me long ago if any of our heroes would end up going dark, and the answer was yes. Did anyone expect it to happen to Tai? And during a serious battle at that. Things are about to take a very nasty turn, for everyone. Stay tuned to see what happens next.)**

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/BlackWarGreymon**


	76. Chapter 76: Black War Path

**(A/N: I've been waiting for this chapter to come up for quite some time now. And I love the chapter title. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. If not, well, I still liked writing it, your enjoyment just makes it that much better.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 76: Black War Path**

The name was suitable for the new form. Mirroring WarGreymon in physical appearance, BlackWarGreymon was almost identical, the only real difference being that his color pattern was made up almost entirely of black and shades of gray. The eyes were wrong though, Shoutmon acknowledged, they weren't supposed to be glowing red like that.

"What did you do?" he asked quietly, backing away.

The Spirit Evolution had drawn the attention of the others as well. SkullMeramon had ceased striking WarGrowlmon with his chains to stare at the new dragon Digimon. "Hey, how'd he do that? He was beat."

BlackWarGreymon's red gaze settled on him. A low growl emitted from him and he roared his rage to the sky. Taking off, he sped towards SkullMeramon. Before the flame Digimon could react, he lashed out with his gauntlets, the three blades stabbing into his gut, and he carried him into the sky.

" _Black Storm Tornado!"_ Spinning around, he caused a large black tornado to form around himself. Unlike WarGreymon's _Ultra Tornado_ , this one did not send out smaller ones, but its power was far greater.

After a few moments, SkullMeramon went flying from the tornado. The black vortex subsided as BlackWarGreymon stopped spinning and cupped his hands together. _"Terra Destroyer!"_

Like WarGreymon's _Terra Force_ , a massive ball of energy gathered above BlackWarGreymon's head. Only this attack was full of darkness, glowing an angry red as all the world's negative emotions gathered in a single spot. He threw this giant ball of energy at SkullMeramon, who could do nothing to defend himself as he fell from the sky. The attack quickly caught up with his falling form, and erupted in a mighty blast. SkullMeramon's cry was lost amongst the resounding blast, and his body burst into data.

BlackWarGreymon roared his victory to the sky as the others looked on in shock at the brutality in which he had destroyed SkullMeramon.

"You'll pay for that!" MetalPhantomon declared, flying towards him with his scythe raised. _"Soul Predator!"_

BlackWarGreymon whirled around, using his _Dragon Cutter_ , his claws slicing through the cyborg Digimon's scythe, cutting it to pieces, even the blade. MetalPhantomon stared at his destroyed weapon. BlackWarGreymon then used _Dramon Fire_ , throwing a fireball into MetalPhantomon, sending him flying backwards.

WarGrowlmon walked over to the dragon Digimon. "Wow, those were some moves."

Suddenly, out of the blue, BlackWarGreymon grabbed his friend and threw him. "Stay out of my way."

He turned his attention to Murmukusmon. This seemed to snap the demon Digimon out of his stupor, and he delivered a punch to Aldamon's face while the fire wizard Digimon was still distracted. _"Dark Interrogation!"_

Aldamon was blasted back, and Murmukusmon turned his full attention to BlackWarGreymon. The dragon Digimon was already flying towards him. He flew at him as well, and the two met in the air. BlackWarGreymon slashed at him, but Murmukusmon batted his claw away and pressed a sphere of deadly energy into him. BlackWarGreymon was blown backwards, and Murmukusmon followed up with his _Gehenna Flame_ , breathing a stream of fire that flowed over the dragon Digimon.

" _Black Tornado!"_ BlackWarGreymon cried, spinning around with his arms extended, cutting through the fire like a drill. Murmukusmon moved to the side at the last second and reached out, grabbing BlackWarGreymon around the middle as he whizzed by, stopping his spinning.

" _Solar Wind Destroyer!"_ Aldamon cried, launching a fireball at the demon Digimon's back. Murmukusmon cried out and released BlackWarGreymon, allowing the dragon Digimon to spin around in the air and deliver a kick to him, sending Murmukusmon flying. He was far from grateful though as he turned to Aldamon.

" _War Blaster!"_ he cried, throwing a series of fireballs.

Aldamon's eyes widened as the flaming spheres came at him. "What are you doing?" He maneuvered around the fiery spheres, but they started exploding in the air around him. When the last one erupted, he threw BlackWarGreymon an angry look. "What was that for?"

"Interfere again, and I'll kill you," the dragon Digimon snarled, and then turned and flew after Murmukusmon.

Aldamon growled. "Someone's forgotten the meaning of teamwork." Then, ignoring BlackWarGreymon's warning, he flew after him.

Down on the ground, Shoutmon's fists clenched. "No. I was afraid of this."

"Afraid of what?" WarGrowlmon asked, flying down to him. "What happened to Tai?"

Grumbling, Shoutmon looked on as Murmukusmon and BlackWarGreymon continued to fight while Aldamon attempted to assist the dragon Digimon, only to have BlackWarGreymon turn his attack on him. "He's running on pure anger and hatred. That's what's fueling his Digivice right now. It allowed him to tap into the dark part of his Digi-Code, turning him into BlackWarGreymon."

"Which I'm guessing is bad," WarGrowlmon muttered. "But why's he attacking us?"

Shoutmon shook his head. "He can't control the darkness. It's clouding his judgment. All he can think about is fight, kill, destroy."

"As should you," MetalPhantomon cried, flying towards WarGrowlmon, swinging his scythe. The cyborg dinosaur Digimon blocked with his blade and ignited his thrusters, bringing MetalPhantomon back into the air and away from Shoutmon and Kari. All the while, BlackWarGreymon continued to fight against Murmukusmon, attacking Aldamon every time he tried to assist him.

"Tai, cut it out!" Imperialdramon shouted as BlackWarGreymon once again swiped at the fire wizard Digimon.

One of Examon's wings struck Imperialdramon, the end stabbing into his side. "You have your own problems to worry about."

Imperialdramon growled, turning back to him. "That was a cheap shot. You'll pay for that."

As the battle between the two dragon Digimon resumed, Aldamon continued to struggle to try and fight Murmukusmon while avoiding BlackWarGreymon, but every time he got close, the dragon Digimon would turn on him. "Damn it, Tai, let me help!"

"Don't call me that. I am BlackWarGreymon now, and I don't need your help."

"Yes, you do," Aldamon retaliated, only to have BlackWarGreymon throw a fireball at him, which he promptly knocked away. "Tai!"

Murmukusmon hovered close by. "Here's a suggestion," he told the dragon Digimon, "how about you kill him, then you and I can fight without any interruptions."

BlackWarGreymon turned back to him. "I don't need your impute. _Black Storm Tornado!"_

The large black vortex reappeared, sucking in all around, including Aldamon and Murmukusmon. The latter breathed his _Gehenna Flame_ , but the fire never breached the tornado. With a growl, his gaze landed on Aldamon, who was attempting to resist the tornado's heavy winds, and a wicked grin spread across his face. _"Murmukusmon Slide Evolution… Aldamon!"_

Having taken on the fire wizard Digimon's form, he flew towards the original. The real Aldamon's eyes widened in surprise as he saw his doppelganger coming towards him, and the two collided together, moving away from the dark tornado.

BlackWarGreymon stopped spinning, and his tornado dispersed. He turned to find two Aldamon floating in the air, having broken away from each other, and were now staring the other down. He vaguely recalled that Murmukusmon was able to become other Digimon, and it appeared that he was now trying to pull the old fake-out routine; it was the oldest trick in the book.

The two Aldamon seemed to realize at the same time that BlackWarGreymon was watching them, and they turned to him. "Can you believe this guy?" one of them asked. "He's trying to pretend to be me. As if that would work."

"Don't listen to this copycat," the second retorted. "He thinks he can fool you."

"Come on, Tai. I know you can tell which one of us is the real Aldamon."

"He's trying to trick you. Just ask us something only the real one would know."

"Yeah, that's a good idea. You'll see this guy's just a fakemon. Go ahead, ask."

BlackWarGreymon's glowing red eyes narrowed. "I have a better idea. I'll just get rid of you both. _Terra Destroyer!"_

Both Aldamon reacted in surprise as BlackWarGreymon threw the giant ball of negative energy at them. They were both blasted from the sky and hit the ground hard. A few moments later, the fake Aldamon reverted back to Murmukusmon. He groaned, laying on his back, and opened his eyes to witness BlackWarGreymon coming at him with his _Dragon Crusher_ , his arms extended as he came at him like a deadly spear.

Murmukusmon rolled to the side, and BlackWarGreymon hit the ground with a mighty crash that sent up a large dust cloud. Murmukusmon got to his feet and began moving away from the impact sight. "He actually attacked us both. That guy is out of contr-"

His words suddenly became a pained bellow as BlackWarGreymon's claw burst through his chest. He looked down at the blades sticking out of him before glancing over his shoulder at the dragon Digimon. "Y-You…"

"You're annoying," BlackWarGreymon growled. "Disappear."

He twisted his claw inside Murmukusmon, and the demon Digimon cried out and broke down into data. BlackWarGreymon didn't even bat an eye as he turned his attention to Examon and Imperialdramon. Without a moment's hesitation, he flew towards the two dragon Digimon. He carelessly knocked Imperialdramon out of the way, kicking off his head, and lashed out at assassin. Examon's gun-lance came up, catching BlackWarGreymon's claw.

"Welcome back," he mocked. "I didn't expect you to make a comeback like this. You humans are astounding. I can see why ShadowSeraphimon wants you out of the way."

"I'll kill him," BlackWarGreymon seethed. "But first I'll kill you. I _will_ keep my sister safe."

"Well, I like your new look. Lets see how you far against me now."

One of his wings knocked BlackWarGreymon away. He recovered quickly and went on the attack again. Imperialdramon attempted to rejoin the fight, only to be given the same treatment as Aldamon by BlackWarGreymon.

The fire wizard Digimon in question picked himself up off the ground and glared at BlackWarGreymon. "I really hate this new form of his. He's not thinking right, and doesn't care who he hurts." He looked at Shoutmon. "Hey, Shoutmon, BlackWarGreymon is seriously trying to kill us. Should we just let him fight Examon on his own?"

The dragon Digimon shook his head. "He'll never survive. No chance. Examon is just too strong. We _can't_ let him fight on his own, he'll be killed for sure."

Aldamon growled. "Great. Well, here we go."

He flew up to join Imperialdramon and BlackWarGreymon, even as the latter turned his attacks on his friends. Phelesmon grinned at the sight as he continued to exchange blows with MagnaAngemon. "It looks like your friend can't tell the difference between friend and foe anymore. He might actually do the job for us."

He thrust his pitchfork outward, but MagnaAngemon blocked with his shield. "Tai's stronger than that. He'd never let the darkness control him."

Phelesmon laughed and stabbed forward, only to have MagnaAngemon raise his sword, catching between two of the spikes. "Then maybe I'll use my _Demon's Shout_ on him to completely set him off."

"I'll never let that happen." He pulled his sword free and jumped back. _"Gate of Destiny!"_

His golden gate appeared and opened for Phelesmon. The demon Digimon stumbled forward as it began to suck him in, but then he grinned. "Did you really think that would work on me? _Black Statue!"_

The beam he fired struck the golden gate, and it instantly turned to stone, the entrance replaced with smooth black rock. It dropped to the ground, cracking in half, and Phelesmon laughed as he flew towards MagnaAngemon. They collided together, and MagnaAngemon lost his footing, falling backwards. Phelesmon ugly face was inches from his own, the only thing separating the two being his sword and Phelesmon's pitchfork.

Shoutmon looked at the three different battles taking place. WarGrowlmon and MetalPhantomon seemed to be evenly matched, as did MagnaAngemon and Phelesmon. The fight with Examon was still not in his friends' favor, especially with BlackWarGreymon being so uncooperative and actually attacking his comrades. They needed more help, otherwise Examon would kill them all.

His gaze returned to the fight between the angel and demon Digimon. Creating a _Fiery Fastball_ , he threw the flaming music note at Phelesmon. It struck him in the shoulder, and he glared at the dragon Digimon. "Wait for your turn. _Black Statue!"_

"Shoutmon, no!" MagnaAngemon shouted.

The beam flew at the dragon Digimon, who took a step back, knowing there was no escape. "I knew this was a bad idea! Ahhhhh-"

The beam had struck, and Shoutmon was reduced to a stone statue, his mouth frozen in mid-scream. MagnaAngemon stared in horror at his friends, unwilling to believe what he was seeing. "Shoutmon!"

Phelesmon laughed. "Maybe ShadowSeraphimon can use him as a paperweight."

"Bastard!" the angel Digimon bellowed. _"Excali-burst!"_

His sword flooded with power, and he knocked the demon Digimon back. He slashed at him with his powered up blade, and Phelesmon raised his pitchfork. MagnaAngemon's sword cut straight through, leaving the demon Digimon holding the two broken halves. _"Heaven's Gate!"_

He created his alternative golden gate, and the doors opened to unleash a beam of holy energy. It struck Phelesmon, knocking him off his feet, and carried him away, the demon Digimon screaming all the while.

MagnaAngemon immediately flew over to his petrified friend, crouching down beside him. "Hold on, Shoutmon. I'll fix you in a moment. _Magna Antidote!"_

His holy light flowed over the statue. Color began to return as black rock slowly shifted back to red and white flesh, and Shoutmon's cry from before once more began to emit from his mouth. "Ahhhhhh… Oh, I'm back."

MagnaAngemon sighed in relief. "You scared me. I thought he'd killed you."

"MagnaAngemon?"

The two turned to see Kari on her feet, coming over to them. She was still pale and sickly looking, her eyes hooded with dark rings under them and a fevered blush on her cheeks. MagnaAngemon stood up. "Kari, what are you doing? Go lie back down."

She ignored him, her eyes going up to the battle with Examon. BlackWarGreymon was currently trying to land a blow on Aldamon for interrupting again while Imperialdramon was swiping at Examon, who easily batted away his claws with his gun-lance. Kari's gaze landed on BlackWarGreymon, and she cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Is that… Tai?"

"Kari…" MagnaAngemon pleaded, kneeling beside her.

She collapsed, and MagnaAngemon caught her before she hit the ground. "I'm sorry Kari. There's nothing you can do right now. I wish I could just heal you with my power, but I…" He trailed off as a light bulb flicked on in his head. Quickly, he turned to the dragon Digimon. "Hey, Shoutmon, can I heal Kari? If I use my _Magna Antidote_ , will it cure her?"

The dragon Digimon blinked. "That's… a good question. Why didn't we think of it before?"

It wasn't exactly an answer to his question, but he gave it a try anyway. The healing light of his _Magna Antidote_ flowed over her, and he watched for any signs of improvement.

Shoutmon had been right, they should have tried this much sooner. Kari's color returned, and the fever blush on her cheeks vanished as all signs of sickness disappeared. Her eyes opened, the dreariness gone, and she looked up at the angel Digimon holding her. "MagnaAngemon?"

A relieved sigh escaped him. "Kari, are you alright?"

She slipped out of his arms, feeling herself all over. "I'll say. I feel better than ever. I wish we had healing power like this back home." A gasp escaped her as she suddenly remembered the situation. "Tai!" She looked back up at her brother. "We have to help him."

Despite her seeming to be completely recovered, MagnaAngemon gave her a worried look. "You sure you're up for it?"

She held up her Digivice. "Does this answer your question? _Execute! Spirit Evolution… Angewomon!"_

The angel Digimon beside her nodded. "Well, if you're sure."

A wicked laugh reached them as Phelesmon flew back over to them. "What a pretty picture this is."

MagnaAngemon glared at him. "You again."

The demon Digimon grinned. "Now I can bring ShadowSeraphimon back a pair of angel statues. _Black Statue!"_

He fired his beam. MagnaAngemon faced it head on, his face contorting with anger. "I've had enough of this guy. _Shield and Sword!"_

His shield began glowing as it projected a barrier. He thrust it at the beam, deflecting it back at Phelesmon. The demon Digimon's eyes widened, and he turned to flee. Not fast enough though as he was hit by his own attack, and a black stone statue posed to run stood in his place.

Angewomon held up her hand, making a finger gun. "Now it's my turn. _Holy Arrow!"_

A bolt of lightning flew from her fingertip. It struck the Phelesmon statue, and it crumbled to pieces. As the pieces dissolved into data, Shoutmon made a run for it as Angewomon turned her attention to the sky. "Now we have to get my brother back to normal."

"Right," MagnaAngemon agreed. But then his attention shifted to WarGrowlmon. If they took out MetalPhantomon first, then they could all attack Examon together. "But what about WarGrowlmon?"

The cyborg dinosaur Digimon blocked a blow from MetalPhantomon's scythe. "Don't worry about me. The others need your help more. I can take handle this guy until you're done. Maybe I'll even beat him by then."

"You shouldn't be so arrogant," MetalPhantomon replied. _"Soul Predator!"_

His sickle enlarged to an enormous size, and he swung it at WarGrowlmon. The cyborg dinosaur Digimon jumped back and unleashed his _Megalo Spark_ , shocking MetalPhantomon, then glanced at his friends. "Go!"

Angewomon nodded. "Hang in there, WarGrowlmon, we'll be there soon."

 **(A/N: Ok, so, as you probably predicted, Tai becoming BlackWarGreymon was obviously very bad. He's faster and stronger than WarGreymon, but also far more dangerous, attacking friend and foe alike. Now that Kari is all better, will they be able to return him to his senses? And if they do, they still have Examon and MetalPhantom on to deal with. This chapter ended with the battle not being finished, so there will be an update next Wednesday. Look forward to it.)**


	77. Chapter 77: An Angel's Healing

**(A/N: A lot of people like how I had Tai become BlackWarGreymon. I thought that'd get a lot of likes. I also got a few fans with theories of what will come from this. While I'm not going to provide any spoilers, just know that I have everything in this story planned out, and I've got a plan for everything that's happened, even if it seems like I've forgotten it or it seems inconsequential. But for now, lets see how and if Tai can be saved from the darkness that has consumed him.)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 77: An Angel's Healing**

Taking to the sky, Angewomon flew towards the battle. BlackWarGreymon was swiping at Examon while his opponent easily deflected the blows with his wings. Imperialdramon and Aldamon kept their distance, knowing BlackWarGreymon would simply attack them if they tried to help, but still remained ready to step in if they needed to.

"Die!" BlackWarGreymon snarled, slashing at Examon, only to have his attack deflected. "Die! Die! Die! I'll kill you!"

His opponent continued to bat away the dragon Digimon's blows with his gun-lance. "You may be stronger than before, but you're still no match for me, human."

He backhanded BlackWarGreymon with his wing, sending him tumbling backwards through the air. Stopping his momentum, BlackWarGreymon roared his frustration to the sky and prepared to go on the attack again.

"BlackWarGreymon!" Angewomon shouted, making sure to keep a good amount of distance between her and her brother. He turned to her, his glowing red eyes staring at her. "It's me. It's Kari. You can stop; I'm all better now. See, I've even become Angewomon again. I'm ready and raring to go."

A growl escaped the dragon Digimon. "Angewomon. This is your fault. It's because of you that Kari always has to put herself in danger. If you weren't here, then my sister wouldn't have to fight all the time!"

"Tai…" Angewomon whispered sadly.

BlackWarGreymon cupped his hands, gathering energy. "Be gone! _Terra Destroyer!"_

"Kari/Angewomon!" the others shouted, all attention having shifted to the two siblings; even Examon and MetalPhantomon had stopped to watch as BlackWarGreymon threw the giant ball of energy at his sister. It flew down towards her, but Angewomon refused to move.

"Get out of there!" MagnaAngemon shouted.

"No!" Angewomon cried. Using her _Super Jump_ , she actually launched herself _towards_ the attack with a burst of holy energy. "You're always helping me and looking out for me, Tai. Now it's my turn to help you. I'm not backing down now." She flew through the air and began glowing as she sped towards the massive ball of energy. _"Angewomon_ _ **Mega**_ _Digivolve to… Ophanimon!"_

The glowing form slammed into BlackWarGreymon's _Terra Destroyer_. The light dispersed, revealing the new Mega, and Ophanimon thrust out her shield. The _Terra Destroyer_ pushed against it, yet Ophanimon resisted. Gritting her teeth, she let the ball of energy roll over her shield before hurling it up and away.

With the _Terra Destroyer_ no longer obscuring their vision of her, the others got their first real look at Angewomon's Digivolution. As stunningly beautiful as she was before, she had now taken on the form of an angelic Valkyrie warrior. There was no doubt that she was clearly a warrior angel, her body clad in turquoise armor, even her wings were either encased in or actually made of gold. She wielded a shield in one hand and a javelin in the other, looking more than ready to use it in battle.

"Whoa," Imperialdramon muttered. "I think I'm in love… again."

"Is that really Angewomon?" WarGrowlmon asked, both he and MetalPhantomon seeming to have for gotten that their blades were pressed against each other.

"Not anymore," Shoutmon replied. "Now she's Ophanimon, one of the three Celestial Angels, and one of the most powerful of all angel Digimon. She just became the strongest member of our group."

MagnaAngemon smirked. "You know what, that doesn't surprise me."

Ophanimon hovered in the air, moving closer to her brother, no longer worrying about keeping her distance. "BlackWarGreymon."

The dragon Digimon continued to glare at her. "You think this changes anything?"

"Tai…" she cooed, "it's ok now. I can make you better. You just have to let me in, and I can restore you."

They were close now, and BlackWarGreymon didn't seem to appreciate it. "Make me better? Let you in? I'll kill you!"

He closed the distance between them and slashed at her. Releasing her javelin, which continued to hover in the air beside her, Ophanimon's hand shot out and caught his claw. "The darkness has taken over your body, but it has not tainted your soul. You're heart's still pure, Tai. I can sense it. Let me help."

"Get away from me," BlackWarGreymon demanded, though most of the hostility in his voice seemed to have been replaced with uncertainty.

"It's ok…" she told him. Reaching out, she gently placed her hands on either side of his head. "It's ok…"

An aura of rainbow light surrounded Ophanimon. Almost as if to challenge it, a black aura rose up around BlackWarGreymon. Ophanimon just smiled and closed her eyes behind her helmet. He aura began to spread from her to BlackWarGreymon, consuming the black aura. It flowed over the dragon Digimon completely, and the black aura disappeared.

Ophanimon backed away as the rainbow aura continued to dance around BlackWarGreymon. The red glow vanished from his eyes, revealing pale gold ones, and recognition and reason appeared in them once more. "Ophanimon… Kari…"

She smiled at him. "Hi, Tai."

"I've… I've done something horrible…" He sounded like a small child ashamed of his actions.

Ophanimon moved forward and wrapped her arms around him. "No, Tai, you're just doing the very best you can. Sometimes, even the most noble of intentions can have horrible results. Remember, it's the thought that counts."

Slowly, BlackWarGreymon's arms came up to return the hug. "I'm so sorry. I love you, Kari."

"I love you too, big brother."

Down on the ground, Shoutmon wiped away a stray tear. "So this is the bond between siblings. It's beautiful."

Examon seemed to have a different opinion and fired his _Pendragon's Glory,_ the laser striking BlackWarGreymon in the back, making him cry out. "Well, that was anti-climatic. And things started out so interesting too."

Seething, BlackWarGreymon turned back to him. "Trust me, things are going to get interesting. _BlackWarGreymon Slide Evolution… WarGreymon!"_

The return of WarGreymon seemed to signal the resumption of the battle. As MetalPhantomon and WarGrowlmon began exchanging blows again, Aldamon, Imperialdramon, and MagnaAngemon flew over to WarGreymon and Ophanimon, all ready to face Examon. The dragon Digimon simply flashed them a grin and spread his wings. "It doesn't matter how many of you there are, you'll never get through my defenses."

Aldamon growled. "He's right about that. Those wings of his are impenetrable."

"I think I have a way around that," said MagnaAngemon. "Just be ready to attack when he drops his guard."

"When will that be?" Imperialdramon asked.

"Trust me, you'll know. But first, _Soul Vanisher!"_

He flung energy blades at the dragon Digimon. Examon just smirked and wrapped his wings around himself. "I don't know what you're planning, but it's not going to work."

" _Gate of Destiny!"_

The smirk vanished from Examon's face as he felt himself being sucked forward, and he was forced to unwrap his wings in order to fly back. "Clever."

" _Mega Crusher!"_ Imperialdramon cried, unleashing his strongest attack the moment Examon's wings opened. The attack hit dead on, and Examon went spinning backwards.

" _Eden's Javelin!"_ Ophanimon cried, pointing her javelin at him, a beam of rainbow light flying from the end.

Examon straightened himself out, just in time to have the beam strike. There was no time to use his wings, so he brought up his arms to block. The beam hit, pushing him back as the attack's purifying power penetrated his very core.

When the beam ceased, he lowered his arms, only to find WarGreymon right in front of him, lashing out with his _War Driver_. He slashed at Examon once, twice, then moved back and launched a _Terra Force_. Examon attempted to close his wings, but wasn't fast enough, and actually ended up closing them on the attack.

Examon was blown from the sky, and that's when Aldamon made his move. _"Atomic Inferno!"_

The storm of fireballs that was unleashed bombarded against the dragon Digimon, knocking him the rest of the way to the ground. The onslaught continued, the flaming spheres raining down on Examon, keeping his wings open and flattened against the ground as more blasted against his body.

When the storm of fireballs finally ceased, Examon made to rise, but Imperialdramon dropped from the sky, landing on his left wing, pinning it down. WarGreymon, Aldamon, and MagnaAngemon did the same to his right wing, preventing him from using them to defend himself.

A battle cry came from up above, and Examon looked up to see Ophanimon speeding down towards him, her javelin pointed at him. Raising his gun-lance, he took aim at her. _"Avalon's Gate!"_

Shots were fired off as Ophanimon hit the ground with such force that the shockwave sent her friends flying. They hit the ground several yards away, but recovered quickly, turning to the dust cloud that had risen, waiting. Examon had managed to use his attack, and WarGreymon knew how devastatingly powerful it was first hand. "Ophanimon…?"

The dust began to settle, and when it cleared enough, the angel Digimon was standing victoriously over Examon, her javelin buried deep in his chest, undoubtedly penetrating the ground beneath him.

Examon was staring up at the sky, seemingly not seeing anything, a look of shock on his face. Then, much to the surprise of everyone, he smiled, a low chuckle escaping him. "Well done…"

They were his final words as his body broke down into data. Ophanimon, a scowl on her face, grabbed her javelin and ripped it out of the ground.

"You guys, that was amazing!" Shoutmon exclaimed as he raced over and began absorbing Examon's data. "You really have no idea just how powerful Examon is."

WarGreymon's hand went to his stomach, remembering the feeling of Examon's _Avalon's Gate_ attack. "Trust me, I have an idea."

Ophanimon turned to their last remaining enemy. "We're not done yet. There's still one left."

"An Ultimate?" Imperialdramon growled. "No problem. Let me at him."

He and the others flew over to WarGrowlmon and MetalPhantomon. The cyborg Digimon seemed to have gained an advantage on his opponent, and was repeatedly swinging his scythe. WarGrowlmon continued to block, but he was losing ground, forced to take a step back with each blow.

" _Flying Sword of Justice!"_ MagnaAngemon cried, rushing towards MetalPhantomon and swinging his sword. The cyborg Digimon noticed him and dodged, flying up into the sky.

WarGrowlmon sighed in relief as his friends gathered around him, having grown tired from fending off his opponent. "Thanks for the help."

"Not a problem," Aldamon replied. "Sorry it took so long; we didn't mean to neglect you."

"Don't worry about it. I understand, you had to deal with the real threat. I could have taken him; I was just a little tired from the earlier tag-team he and SkullMeramon pulled on me earlier."

WarGreymon held up his claws. "Well, we're here now. Lets wrap this up."

MetalPhantomon looked from one to the other, realizing he was now on his own against four Megas and two Ultimates. Closing his eyes, he lowered his scythe and sighed. "I surrender."

This caught the DigiDestined off guard, and they exchanged uncertain looks. "What is this?" Aldamon demanded. "An attempt to trick us? Make us lower our guard so you can strike while our backs are turned?"

MetalPhantomon shook his head. "No tricks. While what you suggest is indeed a useful strategy, I am not fool enough to fight all of you on my own. We told you from the beginning that this wasn't personal. I owe no loyalty to ShadowSeraphimon; this was merely a job, and it was a failure. I know when I'm beat."

The others still seemed uncertain, and they looked to Shoutmon for advice as the dragon Digimon came over to them. "What do you think?" WarGreymon asked.

He humphed. "I think he's telling the truth. He'd be crazy to challenge you any further."

The larger dragon Digimon looked back at MetalPhantomon. "Then you'll leave us alone?"

The cyborg Digimon chuckled. "I have nothing to gain by staying. You're free to do as you wish; I will not interfere further." He looked at them with a look that could only be described as admiration. "You humans truly are an interesting species. I did not expect this when my comrades and I took on the job. _Heh_ , hard to believe they've all been killed, especially Examon. I guess that's it for our team. It was fun while it lasted."

Aldamon raised an eyebrow. "Then you're not going to wait for them to come back?"

MetalPhantomon casually rested his scythe over his shoulder. "I've got more important things to do. I guess you do too." He gave them a warning look. "A word of advice though. Do not take ShadowSeraphimon lightly. He's been around since the Digital World began, and is very powerful. I'd tell you to stay away from him, but something tells me that you wouldn't listen." He saluted them and began flying away. "Good luck to you, humans. Maybe we'll meet again someday. Farewell."

The DigiDestined watched him leave. He didn't even look back as he vanished into the distance. It seemed he really was leaving. What more, he had also seemed sincere when he advised them to stay away from ShadowSeraphimon. And not as a minion trying to ward away his master's enemy, but as a genuine individual who didn't want them to die. It was very strange considering he had just been trying to kill them.

"Hey, Shoutmon," WarGrowlmon ventured, "is what he said true? Is ShadowSeraphimon really that strong?"

The dragon Digimon sighed. "I'm not going to lie, yes, ShadowSeraphimon is stronger than any of you." He glanced at the newest Mega. "Even you, Ophanimon. And that's just through natural Digivolution. You know that Digimon get stronger over time by absorbing data. Well, ShadowSeraphimon has been gathering data since the Digital World began."

Imperialdramon's wings drooped slightly. "So you're saying we don't stand a chance?"

A smirk crept up Shoutmon's face. "Well now, I didn't say that. ShadowSeraphimon is strong, yes, and if we fought him one on one, he would undoubtedly crush us." He grabbed the air. "But we're a team. I have no doubt that when the time comes, we'll be able to take down that brute. He won't stand a chance against us."

Ophanimon gave him a curious look. Usually, Shoutmon was warning them and was doubtful of their abilities. This new optimism Shoutmon was different. "Do you really mean that?"

Still smiling, the dragon Digimon nodded. "You bet I do?" He looked out into the distance to where he knew ShadowSeraphimon's palace stood. "That's what I've come to believe."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

ShadowSeraphimon sat on his throne, tapping his finger on the armrest impatiently. All around him, a number of Bakemon hovered about, having given their report. They made sure to keep their distance in case he lashed out in anger.

But the fallen angel Digimon didn't seem to be mad per say, just having taken the news with irritable acceptance. "So they failed to stop them. What a nuisance. I suppose I'll have to deal with them myself once they get here."

One of the Bakemon dared to get close. "If I may make a suggestion, master, why not use your trump card?"

ShadowSeraphimon's hand shot up and grabbed the ghost Digimon that had spoken. Without even glancing at him, he crushed the Bakemon into data. "My trump card, eh? I suppose that is an option. It would save me the trouble of dealing with those nuisances."

The Digimon resembling a Bakemon wearing a witch's hat floated over, looking uneasy. "It would cause a great deal of damage, master."

" _I_ could cause a great deal of damage."

The ghost Digimon cringed. "I meant nothing by it, my lord. I merely sought to remind you of how destructive he can be."

A chuckle escaped the fallen angel Digimon. "As if I or anyone else could forget. But tell me, Soulmon, what is the point of having such a weapon if you never use it." He pointed at the ghost Digimon. "See that it's done. And send someone with him so he doesn't get too out of control."

Soulmon and the Bakemon all bowed and faded away to carry out his orders. Left alone, ShadowSeraphimon walked over to the window and looked outside. Somewhere out there, six human children with the gall to challenge him were coming. If they were smart, they'd take a hint from the assassin attack and go hide under a rock. But from what he knew of them, they'd stubbornly push forward, walking towards their own deaths.

"Come, humans," he said quietly. "Come forth and die."

 **(A/N: Phew, well it looks like Tai was saved, in more ways than one. That won't be the only corruption we'll be seeing before this story is over though, and Ophanimon won't always be able to heal them like she did with BlackWarGreymon. By the way, if it seemed that Angewomon's Digivolution was a little too… sudden, it's because this chapter and last were originally going to be one chapter, but I split it into two due to the length That may have been a mistake in hindsight this time. Oh well. But it looks like the final battle is approaching. Only this "trump card" is standing in the way of our heroes and ShadowSeraphimon. But what is it? And will our heroes be able to handle it? Find out next time.)**

 **Ophanimon's attacks:**

 **Eden's Javelin** **–** _ **Fires a beam of purifying energy from her javelin.**_

 **Sefirot Crytal** **–** _ **Manifests ten crystals in the shape of the Sephirot to fire at opponents.**_

 **Holy Rings** **–** _ **Creates a holy of light to heal herself.**_

 **Final Aura** **–** _ **Shines a rainbow light to heal others.**_

 **Shining Laser** **–** _ **Fires beams of energy from her hands.**_

 **Holy Light** **–** _ **Emits a bright shining light that damages opponents.**_

 **Air Sefirot** **–** _ **Unleashes air from the tree of life.**_

 **Eden's Needle** **–** _ **Fires needles of light from her javelin.**_

 **Eden's Air** **–** _ **Creates a holy tornado.**_

 **Unicorn Shield** **–** _ **Uses her shield to deflect elemental attacks.**_

 **(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)**

 **New Digimon that appear. Replace the** _DOT_ **in the link(s) with actual periods.**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Ophanimon**

 **digimon** _DOT_ **wikia** _DOT_ **com/wiki/Soulmon**


End file.
